Monique Worgess chronicles her journey from childhood trauma to self-acceptance and healing in It’s OK to Feel Like This…!

In this brief, hybrid inspirational memoir/ self-help book, Worgess interweaves her personal narrative—including a raw, often harrowing portrayal of abuse—with encouragement and actionable steps for personal growth. A self-described “antisocial queen” of “running away and hiding,” Worgess writes from a survivor’s viewpoint rather than as a mental health expert, offering wisdom gained over a lifetime of navigating—often unsuccessfully—the challenges of being an introverted misfit in a world that rewards extroversion and conformity.

While ostensibly about the author’s struggles with introversion, the book is fundamentally a trauma narrative, focusing primarily on the various forms of abuse—physical, emotional, and psychological—Worgess and her sister suffered under the reign of terror by a person she dubs the “dark figure.” She writes of a household ruled by fear, neglect, and strict, arbitrary rules, such as dictating which side of the street she could walk on: “If we were caught on the wrong side, we had to have an extraordinary explanation, and because we never did, we would suffer the consequences.”

Worgess writes with candor and vulnerability, as open about her missteps and insecurities—”I was thinking so negatively of myself back then”—as her successes. However, the book’s nonlinear structure is often confusing, as the author frequently references events and people without providing essential context until much later. The “dark figure,” for instance, is mentioned in the preface, but who or what it is—an actual person or a critical inner voice?—remains unclear until the third chapter.

Still, Worgess’s authentic voice and hard-won insights will resonate with anyone who has struggled to break self-destructive patterns. It’s OK to Feel Like This…! poignantly expresses that healing is not a destination but an ongoing journey—messy, nonlinear, and utterly necessary.

Also available in hardcover, ebook, and audio book.