At some point in our lives we may find that we feel we’re going crazy in a dysfunctional relationship – be it with our partners, our families, or our co-workers. Confused when my husband tried to murder me, I found clarity and recovery from self-help books on co-dependency. But reading alone will not help us. We must spend time doing the recommended exercises. It’s also important to find a good therapist who can help us understand our discoveries. I went on to write A Dance with the Devil: A True Story of Marriage to a Psychopath to share with others that recovery is possible. Don’t just survive – thrive.
by Melody Beattie
This is a follow-up book to the next three books (below), which I used religiously as I recovered. It clears up misconceptions about codependency, identifies how codependent behavior has changed, and provides a new generation with a road map to stepping out of the victim roll forever. Each section offers an overview of a particular behavior and a series of activities pertaining to that behavior, enabling the reader to personalize her own step-by-step guide to wellness. Also included is a series of tests that allow the reader to assess the level of their codependent behavior.
by Melody Beattie
Have you become so absorbed in other people’s problems that you don’t have time to identify, or solve, your own? Do you need to control events and people around you because you feel everything around and inside you is out of control? The author introduces us to the self-sabotaging behavior patterns of codependency and offers hope and guidance in this well-written book that helps us understand that letting go will set us free. This is the book that set me on the path of becoming who I am today.
by Melody Beattie
This follow-up book looks at the recovery movement and relapsing. It explores relationships: improving them, setting limits and boundaries, negotiating conflicts, and dealing with fear and commitment. It empowers the reader to know she can overcome fatal attractions.
by Melody Beattie
Based on AA's 12 steps, this book is a guideline for self-improvement for those who practice codependent behavior. It is written in a caring, easy-to-understand style and provides activities at the end of each chapter. I found it extremely useful during my recovery.
by Lucia Capacchione
Grab your crayons, scissors, poster board, construction paper, glue, molding clay, paper bags, pens, paper, and explore the inner most parts of yourself with creative and engaging exercises at the end of each engaging chapter. This book will amaze you as you discover what makes you who you are today and how your inner self can lead you through emotional growth. Amazing experience!
by Patricia Evans
Have you ever thought you were being controlled by another person? In this book the author takes a close look at the behaviors that constitute a controlling person and explores why they behave the way they do. The reader is encouraged to become a catalyst for change so she can be a stronger, happier, and more independent person.
by John Bradshaw, Barry K. Weinhold Ph.D., Janae B. Weinhold Ph.D.
“This bestselling book, now is a revised edition, radically challenges the prevailing medical definition of co-dependency as a permanent, progressive, and incurable addiction. Rather, the authors identify it as the result of developmental traumas that interfered with the infant-parent bonding relationship during the first year of life.” After identifying co-dependency issues, the authors “focus on healing co-dependency, providing compelling case histories and practical activities to help readers heal early trauma and transform themselves and their primary relationships.”
by Paul Meier M.D., Dr. Frank Minirth, Dr. Robert Hemfelt
“There is no joy in doing everything for another and calling it love. Even if you believe you are making intelligent choices – It’s simpler to do it myself! He needs my help! I just want to keep the peace! If I don’t do it, no one will! – the burden of codependency will cause untold misery in your life and the lives of your family members. Is codependency at the root of your unhappiness? Let these experienced doctors walk you through their ten proven stages to recovery from codependency, introducing a new dimension: the important stage of seeing God’s unconditional love as the answer to your deepest emotional needs and your hunger for love.”
by John Bradshaw
In this book, the author tells us that “inappropriate shame results in the breakdown of our self-esteem, the destruction of the family system and an inability to move forward with our lives…. John Bradshaw moves from the source and manifestation of toxic shame to the practical tools – affirmations, visualizations, inner voice and feeling work, guided meditations and other healing techniques – that will release the shame that bind us to our past.”
Flashlight Worthy
Recommending books so good, they'll keep you up past your bedtime. more...
About Barbara Bentley
I am a victim’s advocate in California, where I was directly responsible for the passage of Assembly Bill 16, which changed California divorce law. With passion, planning, patience, and persistence, one person can make a difference. Read the law, or more about my journey, at www.adancewiththedevil.com and www.bentleycellars.com.
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