"When I first read the manuscript, I was deeply moved. This book took nearly two years to write — it contains not only ancient fairy tales, but also vivid contemporary cases. More importantly, it dissects complex human nature with surgical precision. Fate certainly shapes us, but those who understand their family script are no longer merely products of fate."
— Chung Ying, Psychologist & Writer; from the foreword

"The book you are holding is written for every one of you who has been holding on. Through these stories, you can see the dust that has settled on you, the armor forced upon you, the crystal coffin that trapped you — all of which were contracts you had to sign in order to survive. Now, let us practice seeing that contract clearly. Return what does not belong to you to the system, and keep compassion for yourself."
— From the author's preface

"You can love yourself — just as you are. You can be loved without a reason. You can use your strength on yourself, to please yourself, to become your own greatest fan. You can spend everything you have earned on caring for and satisfying yourself, without guilt. You can fully express your gifts, find your purpose, decide your direction, and define who you are. Because you belong to yourself. And you have always deserved everything you can give — and everything the world is willing to offer you."
— From the afterword

★ Over 10,000 copies sold within four weeks of publication!
★ #1 Bestseller in Humanities & Social Sciences at Eslite Bookstore!
★ The author Zhou Muzi, who topped the 2017 Eslite bestseller list, was named one of the "Top Ten Influential Books" by Kingstone, and ranked TOP2 in BOOKS's annual bestsellers with "Emotional Blackmail," has sold the rights to the book in simplified Chinese for Mainland China, as well as in Russia, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Her books have been selected multiple times for Taiwan's "Books From Taiwan" program.
★ A deeply personal and professional exploration – Drawing on years of clinical experience, the author reveals the hidden wounds behind high achievers: those who excel in work and family but carry a tired, wounded child inside.
★ Fairy tales meet real life – The book uses familiar stories like Snow White and Cinderella, alongside real-life icons such as Marilyn Monroe and Anita Mui, to uncover the pain beneath the pressure to be "useful."
★ Practical healing exercises – Includes specially designed exercises to help readers loosen their defenses, face their wounds, and learn to value themselves beyond their function or productivity.
★ A psychologist who understands from the inside – The author writes with extraordinary empathy, acknowledging that she, too, is a high-functioning survivor.

Zhou Muzi's most deeply personal work of 2026.
Weaving together fairy tales — Snow White, Cinderella — with the real lives of Marilyn Monroe and Anita Mui, this book excavates the wounds hidden beneath the pressure to be "useful."
They excel. They perform perfectly. But the driving force behind their success is not self-expression — it is an endless, overwhelming fear.
The fear that without being useful, they have no value. The fear that without being useful, they will not be loved.
They are high-functioning survivors.
They are not living their own lives.
Because they cannot escape the ghosts of past trauma — spending their entire lives carrying others' anxiety and compensating for others' inadequacies, using their own usefulness to prove their worth.
As if they never truly grew up.
For children who were parentified or forced to be "high-functioning" at an early age, providing function was their only source of safety. Even as adults, they:
• Always strive for perfection — because this feels like the safest way to survive.
• Never allow themselves to rest — terrified that a moment of ease will expose them as useless.
• Fear being indebted to others; suffer from a "fear of happiness" and cannot believe they deserve to be happy.
• Feel overwhelming guilt the moment they put themselves first.
• Are hypersensitive to others' anxiety and demands, constantly soothing and providing while ignoring their own feelings and needs.
• Most heartbreakingly, when they sense their own vulnerability, they reassure themselves: "It's okay — I can work. I have function."
Drawing on familiar fairy tales and real-life stories, the author completely transforms our understanding of these iconic figures. Her writing is deeply felt, because she is also a high-functioning survivor. Through her softness, empathy, and carefully designed exercises, she invites readers to cleanse their wounds, loosen their defenses, and remove their armor — because we were never meant to be servants of others' emotions. Even when we are not providing a function or fulfilling a role, we are still worthy of care and love.
In a world of transactional relationships, love is a contract.
In a world of equals, love is an exposure.
Exposure of vulnerability, inadequacy, need, imperfection.
This exposure is what allows us to truly face ourselves — the nature of love and relationships. But this is exactly what high-functioning survivors are least familiar with, least skilled at.
— Excerpt from the book

Zhou Muzi is a licensed counseling psychologist (License No. 2889) and director of the Xinxi Counseling Center.

She is the author of the 2017 bestseller Emotional Blackmail, which topped the Eslite bestseller list, was named one of Kingstone's "Top 10 Influential Books," and ranked #2 on Books.com.tw's annual bestseller list. The book has been sold in Mainland China, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Her other works include Relationship Black Hole (Russian rights sold), They All Say You "Should" (Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam), Overstriving (Mainland China, Korea, Vietnam), Shame Trauma (Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam), and Fear of Intimacy (Korea, Vietnam). Five of her books have been selected for the Ministry of Culture's "Books From Taiwan" program.

Beyond her work as a psychologist and author, she is also the lead singer of the folk metal band Crescent Lament, which released its third Taiwanese-language album in 2020.

With a background in communications and a career spanning psychology and metal music, Chou Mu-Tzu brings a unique, "atypical" perspective to her work. She believes in helping people see how they are trapped, why they are trapped, and what choices they truly have. Her guiding belief is that by facing life as our authentic selves, we can break free from invisible chains and find true freedom.

For her, the most important thing in life is: "Accept yourself, and set yourself free."