Rose Colored Glasses

Now a Best Seller!
#1 in Self-Help Books for Abuse, #1 in Trauma Psychology Books!

Healing begins with understanding what really happened in your last toxic relationship.

In Rose Colored Glasses, therapist and educator Kate Mageau takes readers inside the emotional landscape of abuse, showing how toxic relationships unfold through the joys, the terrors, and the gaslighting. Part true story, part self-help guide, this book reveals what really happens within emotional abuse, especially in the early stages when it’s hardest to identify.

Through raw storytelling and professional expertise, Mageau helps readers understand the hidden patterns of psychological abuse, why leaving is never simple, and how to reclaim their identity afterward.

Told in three parts and drawn from lived experience, this is more than a memoir. It is a survival tool for anyone seeking emotional abuse recovery and a new path forward.

For survivors of toxic relationships, emotional abuse, narcissistic abuse, psychological abuse, domestic violence, or intimate partner violence. Whether you are a survivor, a friend, or a professional supporting someone through their healing journey, this book offers clarity, compassion, and hope.

You’ll learn how to:

• Recognize the real warning signs through examples
• Understand why leaving is complicated, not a failure
• Support yourself or someone you love without blame or shame
• Rebuild your confidence and sense of self after toxic love

Kate Mageau is a licensed mental health counselor and nationally certified counselor specializing in relational trauma and emotional abuse recovery. She is a domestic violence and intimate partner violence survivor herself, and she also trains other therapists to recognize and treat emotional abuse. With years of experience helping survivors, she knows that transformation comes from stories that make us feel seen.

For anyone who has experienced a toxic relationship, Rose Colored Glasses offers understanding, empowerment, and a way to see your past more clearly and your future more freely.

Companion workbook also available: Healing from Toxic Relationships: The Workbook.

"Rose Colored Glasses struck me as both courageous and necessary the way you weave personal experience with professional insight offers survivors not only validation but also a practical path toward healing. It’s rare to find a book that feels at once deeply human and clinically informed, and yours achieves that balance beautifully."

"I absolutely LOVE your book!! I’ve highlighted as I've gone along, so I can go back to reference. And the validation I have felt from you saying WHY those actions were wrong has helped me immensely. Kinda mind blowing on some of them. Thank you for this book!!"

"Your dedication to helping survivors rebuild safety and self-trust, while also training other therapists to recognize and treat emotional abuse, shows how deeply you’ve committed yourself to this mission. That combination of lived empathy and professional expertise gives your writing a resonance that can truly change lives."

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am a domestic violence and intimate partner violence survivor. After I experienced abuse, I attended a support group at a domestic violence advocacy agency and learned about the cycle of abuse. I also saw a mental health counselor who taught me more about abuse and how to heal from it. Five years later, in 2019, I returned to the same agency and volunteered my time to co-facilitate the same support group, where I continued to learn even more about the abuse.

I am currently in my last year in a Master's of Counseling Education, specializing in Mental Health Counseling, where I am learning further more about abuse and domestic violence. And if you think that isn't enough, I am also in an internship at an agency that specializes in helping domestic violence survivors heal from abuse, where I - you guessed it --learn even more about abuse. When I graduate in December of 2022, I plan to continue helping domestic violence survivors as a mental health counselor.

I also enjoy my life and spend time not thinking about abuse! I enjoy kayaking, reading, writing, painting, traveling, cooking, gardening, and spending time with those I love - my family, my friends, my wonderful and supportive boyfriend who is nothing like my ex, and my cat, Penelope.