'They're devaluing the victim': Mackenzie Phillips says exposing incestuous affair with her father ruined her family relationships

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 18:54 EST, 7 February 2017 | Updated: 20:21 EST, 7 February 2017

She revealed eight years ago that she had a long-term incestuous relationship with her father.

And now Mackenzie Phillips, 57, is opening up about the long-lasting impact the bombshell revelation has had on her family.

In excerpts from Phillips' new book, Hopeful Healing: Essays on Managing Recovery and Surviving Addiction, the actress reveals some of her family members still blame her for the abuse.

'Some in my family have chosen to hold on to the pain': In her new book actress Mackenzie Phillips says exposing her incestuous affair with her father in 2009 ruined her family relationships

'Some in my family have chosen to hold on to the pain': In her new book actress Mackenzie Phillips says exposing her incestuous affair with her father in 2009 ruined her family relationships

One relative even dis-invited her from a birthday party, as Phillips' explained: 'Another family member was angered that I might attend, and I was told she was just not willing to forgive me yet. 

'She wouldn’t forgive me! For abuses perpetrated against me as a child, or for exposing those abuses perhaps,' she writes.

Phillips exposed the secret in 2009 in her first book High on Arrival, revealing that her father, singer John Phillips, raped her at age 19 while they were under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

The duo then began a consensual incestuous relationship which lasted around 10 years. 

Phillips, who has struggled with drug addiction in the past, is now a drug rehab counselor at Breathe Life Healing Center.

'They’re still caught in a textbook response of devaluing the victim': While the 57-year-old star is trying to move on, some in her family are still blaming her and she was even dis-invited to a birthday party

'They’re still caught in a textbook response of devaluing the victim': While the 57-year-old star is trying to move on, some in her family are still blaming her and she was even dis-invited to a birthday party

The former One Day At A Time star says she turns to her own counselor and loved ones for support.

She writes: 'I’ve come to understand that some in my family have chosen to hold on to the pain and anger they felt when I came out with the truth about my dad,

'I understand that they’re still caught in a textbook response of devaluing the victim and holding up the perpetrator.

'I’ve also had to accept that, of course, I’d be the target of negative reactions and feelings because I’m the one who wrote the book and told a truth no one wanted to hear. If you’re trying to maintain some sort of façade so you can avoid pain, the last thing you want is for the façade to be demolished.'

Shocking: Phillips exposed the secret, in her book High on Arrival in 2009, that her father John Phillips raped her at age 19 while they were under the influence of drugs and alcohol. They then began a long term incestuous affair

Shocking: Phillips exposed the secret, in her book High on Arrival in 2009, that her father John Phillips raped her at age 19 while they were under the influence of drugs and alcohol. They then began a long term incestuous affair

The way they were: Mackenzie is pictured with her father, her half-brother Tamerlane and her father's wife Genevieve Waite in 1980

The way they were: Mackenzie is pictured with her father, her half-brother Tamerlane and her father's wife Genevieve Waite in 1980

Several of Phillips' family members accused her of lying when her book was first published eight years ago.

Some were upset that she was making allegations that her father, who passed away in 2001, couldn't defend himself against. 

Phillips' half-sister Chynna told Oprah Winfrey in 2009: 'Am I exceedingly joyful that my family secret that I told maybe my therapist, my husband and my very best friend in the whole world [is now public]? No,

Another of Phillips' half-sisters Bijou said in a statement: 'I understand Mackenzie’s need to come clean with a history she feels will help others, but it’s devastating to have the world watch as we try and mend broken fences, especially when the man in question isn’t here to defend himself,' 

Hopeful Healing: Essays on Managing Recovery and Surviving Addiction goes on sale Tuesday, Feb. 7. 

TV star: Mackenzie starred in One Day At A Time from 1975 to 1983

TV star: Mackenzie starred in One Day At A Time from 1975 to 1983

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