“Why am I like this?”
This childhood wounds workbook helps you finally answer that question, and heal what is behind it.
Healing Your Childhood Wounds Workbook is where that question finally gets an answer, and a way forward. In twelve short chapters and thirteen guided exercises, this childhood wounds workbook helps you meet the child you once were, understand what they needed and never got, and give it to them now, with simple tools from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Maybe you say yes when you mean no. You apologize for things that are not your fault. A careless word from someone you love lands like a verdict, and you replay it for days. From the outside you look fine; inside, an old hurt still sets the tone. Left alone, patterns like these rarely fade on their own: they follow you into every job, every friendship, every relationship. The good news is that they were learned, and what was learned can be gently unlearned.
Lily Mindwell knows this road from the inside. She grew up in New York as an anxious girl who rarely felt good enough, long before she studied psychology and worked in counseling. She writes the way a kind friend would: no jargon, no quick fixes, one honest step at a time.
What this childhood wounds workbook will help you do
- See where your patterns come from. Recognize the signs of a wounded inner child and trace today’s reactions back to their roots.
- Quiet the inner critic. Catch the cognitive distortions that keep you small and rewrite the core beliefs behind them: “I am…”, “Other people are…”, “The world is…”.
- Meet yourself with compassion. Replace self-blame with self-acceptance, and learn to reparent the child who is still waiting for kindness.
- Feel and say what you feel. Build emotional intelligence: name your emotions, understand them, and express them without fear.
- Say no without guilt. Set healthy boundaries, and keep them.
- Put down what you have carried for years. Practice forgiveness and letting go, for your own freedom and at your own pace.
- Build the life you deserve. Healthier relationships, a self-care plan that fits your days, and goals for what comes next.
What is inside
Twelve chapters, each with a guided exercise you complete right on the page. A few of them:
- Signs of a Wounded Inner Child. A clear checklist to see where you stand, and a reflection on what your inner child needs.
- Daily Inner Child Drawing. Draw and write with your non-dominant hand, for thirty days if you like: a surprisingly gentle way to hear the child you were.
- Challenging Cognitive Distortions. A CBT worksheet to question the beliefs you absorbed growing up and find a more balanced truth.
- A Letter to Your Inner Child. Write to your five-year-old self the words you needed to hear back then.
- Boundaries, forgiveness, relationships. Exercises to establish personal boundaries, practice release, and reflect on the people around you.
- Your Self-Care Plan. Design routines that nurture you, then set goals for continued empowerment.
Along the way you will find Reflect boxes for a short pause, a checklist of the signs that your inner child is healing (worth revisiting every few months), and three bonus extras you unlock with a QR code.
How the childhood wounds workbook works
Twenty or thirty minutes a few times a week is plenty. You go through the chapters in order, because each one builds on the last, and you can pause whenever something feels heavy. Consistency matters more than speed.
You can use it on its own or alongside a counselor or therapist, and one section helps you decide honestly whether to walk this path alone. If you ever need help right away, the “If You Need Support Now” page lists crisis lines you can call or text.
Is this workbook for you?
- You understand your past with your head, but your reactions have not caught up.
- You people-please, overthink, or feel “too much” and do not know why.
- You are in therapy and want exercises to work on between sessions.
- You are ready for real work, not a quick fix, and you want to do it with kindness.
What readers say
Three readers on Amazon in the United States, all five stars:
I was looking for a workbook to supplement another book I’m reading and the work I’m doing in therapy. This book is great and has a lot of great exercises and tools for people overcoming trauma. I will use this for myself and with my own clients as well. Definitely recommend!
TeeJay, Amazon, July 2024
Lily includes some very thought provoking questions that, I’ll admit, can be a bit frustrating at first… because they really require looking at your childhood from a different perspective which can be uncomfortable, but in a positive self-growth type of way.
Leandra, Amazon, May 2024
It may not be easy, it hasn’t been for me personally but this book gave me the tools I needed to better understand myself and my own journey through my childhood trauma. This is not a quick fix. It takes work, but it is definitely worth it!!
Angie B., Amazon, April 2024
In short: a gentle, practical childhood wounds workbook for the adult who was once a hurt child. Twelve chapters, thirteen exercises, and a kinder way of talking to yourself. The child you were has waited long enough.
Also by Lily Mindwell
If the pattern shows up mostly in love, the Anxious, Avoidant, and Fearful Attachment Recovery Workbook takes the same work into your relationships. And if you want to do it with your partner, the Love and Relationship Workbook for Couples is written for two.
Want to begin today? Start with How to Heal Your Inner Child and Inner Child Dialogue, or browse all the articles on Lily’s blog.