Unfortunately, the entire book is filled with lies. This is her attempt to get back at a her family of which I am a part of by slandering my Grandmother and Grandfathers good name. And all of the rest of us are sick at what she said in the attempt at writing a novel. It is hardly based in fact, in fact, this the stories in this novel only exist in her delusions. The one thing I would like from her for Christmas is to stop slandering my family. And to stop writing or sharing about our family. Thank you
MY RESPONSE Comment on Blog:
Dear Matthew and Family,
Well, Matthew, sorry you feel that way. And I don’t know why but once again my little sister filling your head with a bunch of crap as she keeps seeing things on my Facebook and sad to see “The Family Dysfunctional Dynamic” has not changed in “The Townsend Household.”
Let’s first put all of this to my friends and readers in proper context before I answer you.
At this point, I couldn’t care less as I have forgiven him and moved on. BUT? I won’t tolerate YOU or family members coming to voice their negative opinions in open forums as you all chose to not speak to me years ago.
And again, NO SURPRISE that you and my “so-called family” who chose, by the way, to be “estranged” from myself and Tom and who happens to be your uncle and “a son-in-law” who had not done ANYTHING to any of YOU or to my father, and it seems YOU have your FACTS INCORRECT.
My Memoir, not NOVEL, has nothing to do with family bashing as you put it, nor discrediting my parent’s name. Maybe your Grandparents should have known better before they chose to keep a lie from their children and SON for years and not think their children would never find out? My father opened that can of worms and it came back when Robert (my brother) found all about when Cecil died…. And we all know how that turned out right? Parents raise their children the way they were raised. It’s Fact. Like my mother always told me; “you kids were not born with a “rule book” on how to raise you, we did the best we could.”
Yes, she did. When my mother was in the hospital before she passed in 2003, and you all treated me poorly in July 2003 and I ended up flying home early because of it, mom and I spoke every morning as you all didn’t know about. We did make our amends and she shared much with me before going into the nursing/rehab where YOU ALL said she had no phone in the room??? Funny, Lil and Jim told me otherwise after a visit, as Lil called and told me at the time because I asked her to do so. So who lies to who Matthew?
It is also a surprise how you changed your feelings about my book after you told me your true feeling shortly after my book was released and you read it.
THIS BOOK is an inside look into gambling addiction, mental health challenges, and recovery. As many other people turn to addictions to cope after being “verbally and parental physically damaged and sexually abused” in one’s past childhood. You were not around then, so I don’t think you have the RIGHT or are qualified really to speak for my ex-family members. You were not even born yet as you told me on Facebook in a direct message reaching out with an amends letter.
Your mother used alcohol as well as we all know due to the amount of DUI’s she has and my brother used alcohol and dabbled in drugs, and Angela? Well, all of the above and has an anger problem. So why do you all keep denying the truth?? The truth sets you free and the healing can begin when you take your part of the ownership of what goes wrong in family relationships. Face It, even my own father used alcohol to cope. Where do you think we saw and learned about addictions, Matthew? Each one of your aunts and your uncle had turned to something to cope.
That is the truth.
MAYBE it is time you and the rest of the family look within your own hearts and start taking accountability and ownership of how you tore a family apart. THAT I feel was started years ago by two parents as wrote in my book. Enough said about that.
This is not between you and me Matthew, as this isn’t even between me and my sisters which have shown their “True Selves”, this is about MY LIFE as a former addict and a person in long-term recovery and giving service to others in recovery. My book shows those who don’t understand addiction and recovery, as like many families don’t, that in recovery people can turn their lives around and be ‘Exceptional Human Beings’ coming out the other side.
So you all can say and think what you want about my book, but book reviews speak for themselves, Matthew. So I have nothing to prove to YOU or my Family. I live my life today helping others and enjoying my life with my husband. I have moved on. You all need to do the same. What I shared in my memoir is the truth of which the family can deny all they want. I have faith and the backing of the “Man Upstairs,” and now, even my mother in heaven also NOW knows I told the truth inside my book. I did a lot of research and have lots of documents as well to back up all I wrote about. Most are all public records. Birth, adoption, marriage, Cecil’s death records and more. So I stand behind all that I wrote and shared.
Here is the beauty of my life today in ‘Recovery and Believing in God’ Matthew, ….
I now live my LIFE not needing your or anyone’s approval or affirmation including my estranged families.
Thank Goodness those days are over!
SO, please just give it a rest and let it BE! I understand family may have closed hearts, minds, and no empathy ….. Just leave me alone.
Author/Columnist, Catherine Townsend-Lyon
* * ** ** *** *** ****
Bet Free Recovery Now - Sharing Hope, Recovery From Gambling Addiction, News & Resources. 
“Many of us who live our lives in recovery like myself may have some of our family members not understand the addiction into recovery concept of how we can come out “the other side ” from addictions. Sadly, that is how some members of my family have chosen to be as they say; “deal with her.” And from the time I could understand more clearly growing up, many of the poor habits and behaviors my mom used when it came to “controlling” her children, I learned later in life many were not very healthy.”
Through treatment and therapy, I know that is why my mother and I butt heads when I got older and we were in constant conflict. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my mom and we were able to make a full amends a few weeks before she passed away in 2003. She had also shared so much of her past life with me in those weeks before she died. My parents were not the “open and share your feelings” kind of parents. We were raised as “you talk about what goes on in our home outside the doors or don’t bring shame to the family.” It was a different time back then when us kids were growing up. So, in 2005, for whatever reason that I still don’t know, my father didn’t call me or return my calls to him. I guess he chose not to talk to me anymore. This includes my husband which had never said or done anything to my father nor my family.
Which brings me to what recently happened. They only time I heard from my younger sister after my book released in 2013 was how I ONLY wrote my book to slander and bash my family in some “revenge plot.” Anyone who has read my Memoir/Book knows it is NOT about what my family did to me, it is enlightening others that our past and how living in a dysfunctional family life as we grew up in can have a negative impact on your children into adulthood. And to cope, they may turn to addictions. Which is what happened to me and my siblings, but they chose to deny it. I chose recovery and become healthy again.
But, so much enabling and denial still goes on with my family. Now why my family can not leave me alone about my book after almost 4 years? I don’t know why? But a few days ago my youngest nephew has taken it upon himself to leave some public comments on a blog and on Amazon as a book review of my book which Amazon nicely took down for me due to it being a family member trying to slander and cause harm. So New Year Wish?
To ask my family to please just move on and leave me alone….
So here is what my nephew wrote on about me and my book on Amazon and a friends blog comment section. And my Rebuttal to him comments.
* * * * * * * *
.
My Nephew Mattews Comment: