Engel used her personal history to inform her thirty-year career as a therapist specializing in abuse recovery. According to Simon & Schuster , she has written over twenty self-help books, including The Emotionally Abused Woman and It Wasn’t Your Fault .
Engel recounts severe hardships, including physical and emotional neglect, being sexually abused at ages four and nine, and being raped at twelve. Raising Myself: A Memoir of Neglect, Shame, and...
described it as a "gut-wrenching, cleareyed coming-of-age memoir" with clean writing that serves the heavy subject matter. Engel used her personal history to inform her
A central focus is how early neglect and abuse created deep-seated shame, making her feel "unlovable and rotten inside". including physical and emotional neglect
and Amazon highlight the book's "brutal honesty" and its message of hope for fellow survivors.