I was married to a narcissist and had no idea...

Actually, I didn't even know what NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) was until recently.

And now I've become a reluctant expert on the disorder. I didn't mean to, but as I desperately searched for answers and tried to make sense of all the crazy things I experienced, it just happened. This is common for victims of NPD abuse. I'm a researcher by nature, so I have become somewhat obsessive about learning everything I can about it. This is part of my healing process. I need to make my heart wrenching experience of narcissistic abuse mean something. I'm going to use that shit as fertilizer, and grow a beautiful garden from it.

And I want to share my knowledge with those people whose shoes I was in just seven months ago, when I met my new therapist. In our very first "get to know you" session, I told her a bit about my ex-husband, and his questionable behaviour over the years. She asked me, 'Does he do this? Does he do that?' "YES", I answered, to all of it. Wide-eyed, I wondered, 'Does she know my husband?'

"He's a narcissist", she told me.