From Gaslight to Daylight: Navigating and Recognizing Emotional and Narcissistic Abuse

Copyright © 2025 by Hollie Marble. All rights reserved. Published by Compass Creations.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This workbook is intended for educational and self-help purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. See the disclaimer on the following page for full details.

If you are currently in an abusive relationship, please seek help from a qualified professional or local domestic violence resource. Your safety comes first - always.

This workbook contains strong language and frank discussions of trauma, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, physical abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse, coercive control, and other forms of relationship violence. Reader discretion is advised.

Dedication

For every badass who picked up this book - I see you. I've been you. I am you.

You are not alone in this. Not even on the days when you're on the floor, hands and knees, wondering how you're going to get back up.

I will meet you there. Every single time.

And to my children - my guiding light when everything else went dark, my beacon of hope when I had none left of my own. You never gave up on me, even when I wasn't sure I deserved it. This is for you, too.

A Note From The Author

Hey. I'm really glad you're here.

I know that sounds simple - maybe even a little too casual for the weight of what brought you to this page. But I mean it with everything I have. Picking up this workbook - whether you bought it yourself, had it handed to you by someone who loves you, or found it shoved in the back of a drawer - took something. Courage, curiosity, desperation, hope. Maybe all four at once. Whatever got you here, it counts.

This workbook was built for you. Not a polished, put-together version of you. You - right now, exactly as you are.

It is not a textbook. It is not a lecture. It is not going to talk down to you or make you feel like a case study. It is a place to think, to feel, to question, to rage, to grieve, and eventually - when you're ready - to start finding your way back to yourself.

We're going to cover some hard stuff. Abuse shows up in a lot of forms, and we're going to look at most of them honestly. We're going to talk about the ways it gets inside your head, the ways it changes how you see yourself and the world, and the ways you can start to untangle all of that. There will be moments that feel uncomfortable. That's okay. Discomfort means something is shifting.

Take it at your own pace. Skip a section if you need to and come back to it. Write in the margins. Ugly-cry on the pages. Do whatever you need to do. This is your workbook. You've got this. And I've got you.

-Hollie

How to Use This Workbook

This workbook is yours to use however works best for you. There is no wrong way to move through it. No grade at the end. No one checking your work. Just you, and whatever you're ready to look at.

That said, here are a few things that might help.

Go in Order if You Can

Each chapter builds on the one before it. The early chapters lay groundwork that makes the later ones make more sense - so if you can, start at the beginning and work your way through. But if something pulls you to a specific section, trust that. You know yourself better than any workbook does.

About the Language

You might notice I swear. A lot. That's not an accident. I write the way I talk, and I talk the way real people talk when they're going through real shit. If you wanted sanitized, clinical language, there are plenty of resources for that. This isn't one of them. I curse because you aren't broken, and sometimes the only word that fits is the one polite society tells you not to say. If strong language isn't your thing, I get it - but I'm not going to apologize for it either.

Grab a Journal

You won't see any writing lines with this journaling prompts in this. I did that for a reason. I don't want anyone to feel intimidated or restricted by them. Write as little or as much as you want to write. Just please do it. So get yourself a journal. Not a post it or an old Lisa Frank forget me not journal. At least a composition notebook. Write things down. The prompts and exercises in this workbook aren't busywork. Writing activates a different part of your brain than just thinking does. Even if what comes out feels messy or doesn't make sense, write it anyway. Especially then.

A Few More Things

You don't have to share this with anyone. What you write here is yours. You decide if it ever leaves this workbook. Come back to things....