Book Review: Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump

“If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not the one who [sins], but the one who causes the darkness.” – Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

She warned everyone. She has been warning everyone for years.

She was right.

Before I begin on the gist of this book review, I am going to stray away from my usual review format and explain a few things:

I do not support the Republican Party. There, I said it. I have voted democratic, republican, and green over the years. I’m a registered independent because I believe this country deserves better than the two major parties. Aside from this, however, I tried my best to remain as neutral and unbiased as humanly possible when reading Mary Trump’s book (like I do with everything I read). Personally, I am counting the days until Donald Trump is no longer the president of the United States, and I have not been shy about that, but I know where my biases lie.

If you are a diehard supporter of Donald Trump as president or a conservative that can’t imagine a democrat in office, I implore you to read this book. Try to put aside your biases, as hard as it is. It is well worth it, especially now.

There are many book reviews about this riveting book all over the internet, but this is my version. After reading Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump about a month ago, I was NOT going to write a review for two reasons:

First of all, I was disgusted reading it (although I did read every word). I was disgusted not because I thought the author was lying (as some people are claiming), but because I thought the world had had enough of Donald Trump and his narcissism. I didn’t want to add to the discourse.

Secondly, I changed my mind after the attack of Jan 6, 2021, on the U.S. Capitol. I feel that everyone should know what type of person Donald Trump is, and as shocking as it is for me to write, some people do not understand how dangerous this man truly is.  So, I decided to exercise my 1st amendment right by writing a review.  

Why Read Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump

As Donald Trump’s niece, a trained clinical psychologist, and a professor, Mary Trump demonstrates the insidious, abusive nature of the Trump family and how the persona of Donald Trump was created. She details her family story from the beginning when her grandfather Fred Trump acquired his first building to his death from Alzheimer’s. The book describes the destructive relationships, trauma, emotional abuse, and neglect involved in the lives of her grandparents, aunts, and uncles. It explains how Fred Trump was controlling, dismissing, emotionally unavailable, and cruel to all of his children, but especially to his oldest son, her father, Fred Jr. or “Freddy.” As the oldest sibling, Freddy tried desperately to please his father, but nothing he ever did was good enough. Feeling like a failure for most of his life, his self-esteem took a nosedive until he eventually became an alcoholic, lost his job, his career, and his wife. He died a miserable death, alone and heartbroken.  

Donald, several years younger than Freddy, watched his older brother suffer at the hands of his father. He learned at a young age that appearing weak was not how to attain acceptance or praise from Dad. Neglected by an ill mother and emotionally-absent father, and watching how his father mistreated his oldest brother, Donald followed in his father’s footsteps and became a bully who would do anything to remain in control. Fred Trump realized Donald’s exploitative and manipulative ability and found those malignant qualities an asset to his business, so he enlisted Donald to run E. Trump & Son. He left nothing to Freddy in his will.  

I’m going to be honest: at times, it was heartbreaking to read Too Much and Not Enough. The abusive family dynamics that created our current president Donald Trump is tragic. I found myself, at times, feeling compassion for Donald, Freddy, and all the siblings.

I recommend Too Much and Never Enough to anyone curious how a person like Donald Trump became the 45^th president of the United States – and why he will not acknowledge his 2020 election loss. I recommend this book to anyone studying covert and overt abusive family dynamics, narcissism, or mental illness.

If you are wondering how someone can incite millions of people to follow him or thousands to storm the United States Capitol building in riot gear with intent to harm the vice president and the speaker of the House, this is your book!

It is an eye-opener that is especially imperative to read at this time in history.

A bit about the author, Mary L. Trump, Ph.D.:

Mary L. Trump is a clinical psychologist, author, and CEO of The Trump Coaching Group, a life coaching company. Throughout her career, she has taught graduate courses in developmental psychology, trauma, and psychopathology. Mary is also a contributor to the book Diagnosis: Schizophrenia, published by Columbia University Press in 2002.

Too Much and Never Enough is her first book and has sold millions of copies. It discloses how she was the anonymous source who revealed the Trump family tax returns to the New York Times.  

To purchase a copy of Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump, visit Barnes & Noble or other online book stores.