As featured in MariaShriver.com * MindBodyGreen * BooksByWomen * Named “Spring Book Pick” by
Redbook Magazine * POPSUGAR * Chico’s Inside Chic * San Francisco Book Review * Buzzfeed * The Berry

In 1998, after having been married to Duncan―a bully who'd been controlling her for the fourteen years they'd been together―Karen E. Lee thought divorce was in the cards. But ten months after telling him that she wanted that divorce, Duncan was diagnosed with cancer―and eight months later, he was gone. Karen hoped her problems would be solved after Duncan's death―but instead, she found that, without his ranting, raving, and screaming taking up space in her life, she had her own demons to face. Luckily, Duncan had inadvertently left her the keys to her own salvation and healing―a love of Jungian psychology and a book that was to be her guide through the following years. In The Full Catastrophe, Karen explores Jungian analysis, the dreams she had during this period, the intuitive messages she learned to trust in order to heal, and her own emotional journey―including romances, travel adventures, and friends. Insightful and brutally honest, The Full Catastrophe is the story of a well educated, professional woman who, after marrying the wrong kind of man―twice―finally resurrects her life.

Karen E. Lee grew up in rural Southern Ontario, Canada, and is a retired clinical psychologist and management consultant. She has lived in Canada, England, and Hawaii. She received an undergraduate degree in 1970 in anthropology, worked in exploration geology in Toronto and Calgary, and in 1991 became a chartered psychologist in Alberta. She moved to England in 1995, where she lived and worked as an independent management consultant for ten years. Her consulting work and general interest have taken her to many different countries: the British Isles, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech republic, Greece, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, Turkey, Peru, Nigeria, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Today, she helps her husband, Bill, in his jewelry business, volunteers for political concerns, and is on the board of Peer Support Services for Abused Women (PSSAW). She and her husband live in Calgary, Alberta.

Karen Elizabeth Lee's profile page

2017 NYC Big Book Award Distinguished Favorite in Relationships
2017 Chanticleer, Journey 2017 Award Shortlist in Narrative Nonfiction
2017 Readers' Favorite Silver Winner
2017 Book Excellence Award Finalist
2017 International Book Awards Finalist in Best New Non-Fiction
2017 Independent Press Awards Distinguished Favorite in Women's Issues
2017 Best Book Award Finalist in Women's Issues
2016 Next Gen Indie Awards Finalist in Women's Issues

"The Full Catastrophe is a thought-provoking story that gives a brutally honest view on self-resurrection.”

—PopSugar

“The perfect mix of a psychological study paired with inspirational self-help."

—Redbook

“A book you’ll definitely want to read this Spring.”

— The Berry

“Lee’s memoir is part Jungian philosophy, part dream analysis, and all-around compellingly true story about a woman’s ability to heal and resurrect her life after the death of her abusive husband.”

— Inside Chic

“Honest and raw with an empowering message for women who are in abusive relationships of any kind.” —San Francisco Book Review

"[The Full Catastrophe] will have you wanting to start your own dream journal as you follow Ms. Lee on her journey!”

— Buzzfeed

“[Lee] became a strong woman by overcoming what she went through and not letting it hold her back.”

— Crossroad Reviews, 5 star review

"Written in retrospect, Lee's plight may help other women in similar marriages find the strength to leave a toxic relationship.”

— Kathy Nester, Penny for My Thoughts

“For those who are willing to learn, to grow, to look at themselves and to (at least try) to change where necessary, astrology can be extremely valuable, even in its simplified, sun-sign form. I’d like to say that those amazing coincidences between Karen’s life and the readings I gave her are entirely proof of astrology’s veracity.”

—Jonathan Cainer, astrologer, Daily Mail

“Karen Lee has laid bare the isolating reality of living in an abusive relationship. Her experience of feeling conflicted about wanting a loving connection with Duncan, while at the same time recognizing the unhealthy nature of her relationship, is a common experience for women in abusive relationships. This book also sheds light on ‘upscale domestic violence’—an insidious, misunderstood, and often not talked about situation that happens to women who appear to have financial and social resources. I applaud and am grateful to Karen for writing this book and sharing her experience. It will help other women experiencing domestic violence and will help all of us to support victims of domestic violence, whatever their socioeconomic background.”

—Andrea Silverstone, Executive Director of Peer Support Services for Abused Women

“A beautifully written, frank, thought-provoking portrayal of a difficult and at times harrowing journey through uncertainty, fear, and abuse. This honest and courageous self-reflection will lead readers to re-think and re-examine their assumptions and beliefs about their own life stories.”

—Dr. N. Ogden, PhD, Professor, Mount Royal University, and Co-Director, Centre for Child Well-Being

“Captivating and often profound, Lee’s The Full Catastrophe eloquently expresses the complex journey of her marriage to a larger-than-life, charming, yet violent man who dies before she’s ready to let him go. Wise and full of gorgeous detail, this is a brave, self-aware, and compulsively readable memoir. In it, Lee has done something rare: she’s told her story with an unflinching eye to her own accountability and with a depth of hard-earned wisdom.”

—Lauren Carter, author of Swarm

“The Full Catastrophe conveys the story of a person who overcame serious adversity of an invisible kind, and not only was able to recover, but also to gain from the ordeal. Through the lines of this book the authentic voice emerges of the unutterable suffering, of the resilience and of the inspirational transformation. A unique document of the indomitable human spirit.”

—Renos Papadopoulos PhD, Jungian Analyst, Prof. Analytical Psychology, Univ. of Essex.