“If you take the time to learn how manipulation works, it is less likely that you will be caught off guard when confronted with it because you will know what to look for. The mystery will be gone.”
—Dr. Harriet Braiker, Who’s Pulling Your Strings?
I’m the ultimate people pleaser. When I got married, my husband said to me, “It’s like you walk around with a sign on your forehead that says, ‘Take advantage of me.’ ”
And that’s how Chaya was able to walk all over me — to take advantage of me, to manipulate me. But in the process, I learned to recognize the warning signs of manipulation. I learned how to tell the difference between someone who’s in need and someone who exploits the goodness of others for their own personal gain.
And that’s why I’m sharing my experience: so that you can learn, too.
One sunny Tuesday afternoon at the beginning of the school year, my nine-year-old daughter, Tali, was invited to a classmate’s house to play. She came home with a chunk of homemade slime. It smelled delicious, like expensive hair conditioner.
“Mindy has so many toys,” my daughter told me. “I played with so many things.”
Mindy’s mother, Chaya, messaged me later that night.
