Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Kat Shaw's Breaking Kylie Shines A Light On Emotional Abuse And Toxic Family Dynamics

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"Kylie's story is fiction, but the feelings in it are ones I know personally. I wanted to write a story that honors the reality that harm is not always obvious from the outside. Sometimes the person being hurt is the one who gets labeled difficult, dramatic, angry, or ungrateful. I wrote this for readers, especially daughters, who know the pain of being controlled by someone the world sees as loving, respectable, or harmless. Surviving is not the most you are allowed to become", stated KatIn recognition of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Kat Shaw, founder of Mettle Press, brings attention to emotional abuse, narcissistic family dynamics, and psychological manipulation through her debut young adult novel, Breaking Kylie. Drawing from lived experience, Shaw explores family trauma, resilience, and a teenage girl's struggle for independence in a fictional story about survival, self-worth, and finding hope beyond abuse.

CHICAGO, IL - October 10, 2026 - In recognition of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, young adult fiction author, mental health advocate, and Mettle Press founder Kat Shaw is bringing attention to the hidden realities of emotional abuse, narcissistic abuse, and psychological manipulation through her debut novel, Breaking Kylie.

Exploring toxic family dynamics, controlling parents, and the emotional impact of family trauma, Breaking Kylie follows seventeen-year-old Kylie Kline as she struggles to maintain her identity while navigating an emotionally abusive home environment.

Drawing from lived experience, Shaw uses fiction to explore how emotional abuse can remain hidden behind seemingly ordinary family relationships. Her novel examines the devastating effects of manipulation, conditional love, and enforced silence, particularly when the person experiencing abuse is portrayed as the source of family conflict.

Through Kylie's story, Shaw brings awareness to psychological abuse, narcissistic family relationships, and the importance of self-worth, resilience, and finding the courage to pursue independence.

When Family Love Comes With Conditions

For Kylie Kline, home is anything but a safe haven. Her mother controls the truth, her father drinks his way around it, and her younger brother has learned that cruelty carries no consequences. Meanwhile, the rest of her family has come to see Kylie as unstable, ungrateful, and responsible for tearing the family apart.

Despite the turmoil, Kylie has softball, her best friend Jess, her boyfriend Koop, and a sharp sense of humor. Most importantly, she has an escape plan and the belief that her future can be different.

But as freedom draws closer, her mother's efforts to maintain control intensify. With relationships threatened and opportunities slipping away, Kylie must fight to preserve her identity before her family's version of her becomes the only one anyone believes.

Kat Shaw explains the deeply personal emotions behind the fictional story:

"Kylie's story is fiction, but the feelings in it are ones I know personally. I wanted to write a story that honors the reality that harm is not always obvious from the outside. Sometimes the person being hurt is the one who gets labeled difficult, dramatic, angry, or ungrateful. I wrote this for readers, especially daughters, who know the pain of being controlled by someone the world sees as loving, respectable, or harmless. Surviving is not the most you are allowed to become."

Bringing Hidden Emotional Abuse Into the Conversation

National Domestic Violence Awareness Month provides an opportunity to recognize forms of abuse that may not be visible to outsiders. Through Kylie's experiences, Breaking Kylie explores emotional manipulation, controlling family relationships, and the struggle to maintain self-worth when personal experiences are dismissed or distorted.

Trauma expert Stacey M. Lanier wrote:

"Kylie's story reveals how unhealed family trauma can disturb one's sense of safety, weaponize loyalty, and leave a young person fighting not to betray her own voice. Breaking Kylie paints a powerful picture of emotional abuse, resilience, and the courageous journey toward freedom."

Editor Yvonne DiVita of Master Book Builders praised Shaw's dedication to the novel:

"I've been waiting a good long time to celebrate this with Kat. She worked so hard on this amazing book and I'm proud to say I got to help her a little. This story is full of angst, fear, and worry but also laughter and friendship and love. This is the beauty of it all! It's a story of survival."

Blending emotional honesty with friendship, humor, and hope, Breaking Kylie offers a compelling story about surviving abusive family dynamics, reclaiming personal identity, and finding the courage to pursue a different future.

Readers can learn more about Breaking Kylie at Kat Shaw's official website or find the novel on Amazon.

About Kat Shaw

Kat Shaw is a young adult fiction author, mental health advocate, and educator on narcissistic abuse. Drawing from lived experience, she writes emotionally honest stories about survival, abusive family dynamics, rebuilding self-worth, and finding hope after trauma. She holds a B.A. in Education and is the author of Breaking Kylie, her debut YA novel. Kat lives in Chicago with her husband.

Learn more at .

About Mettle Press

Founded, July, 2024, by young adult author, mental health advocate, and educator on narcissistic abuse Kat Shaw, Mettle Press is a mission-driven independent publishing imprint dedicated to emotionally honest fiction, survivor-centered resources, and advocacy-based education. Supporting teens, young adults, and survivors healing from narcissistic abuse and childhood trauma, Mettle Press creates books and resources that help readers feel seen, recognize their strength, and find hope for the future.

Learn more on Mettle Press LinkedIn.

About Master Book Builders

Master Book Builders supports authors through book development and publishing. Yvonne DiVita, developmental editor and book coach known as "The Book Whisperer," and Tom Collins, book designer and publishing advisor, work with authors to develop manuscripts, strengthen their messages, and connect with readers.

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