WHEN I READ THIS BOOK, I SAW MY FRIEND TIFFANY ALL OVER IT. SHE CREATES CONFRONTATIONS AND THEN WITHDRAWS. I THINK SHE NEEDS TO READ HIS OTHER BOOKS. I REALLY CARE FOR HER, SO I HOPE SHE DOESN'T TAKE IT PERSONAL THAT SHE CAN BE CRAZY AND STUBBORN AS AN OLD MULE. I THINK I READ A SENTENCE OR TWO ABOUT MYSELF ALSO.

The style of this book surpasses anything that Mr. Bradshaw has written. In other words, although his other books are nice, his writing style is not fluent. He must have had help perhaps, but this one flows fluently. The quality of the material is earth shattering. Very few books have I read from cover to cover within a week and this one I did. This is something I can go over and over.

I first read this book, June 1995, while sitting at the beach, far away from a store, and one month before I was to host a family-reunion.

My mind was searching for a way to be who I decide I am, while I do my best to respect each of my family members - a tall order, at best.

Usually, while I am reading a book, be that fiction or non-fiction, I have paper to write notes into. But I didn't have them, at this time.

One chapter into reading this wonderful book, I had to leave the beach, to buy a notebook, because there are so many powerful tools in this book, ones which I absolutely had to capture in my own written words, as the thoughts and emotions rose up.

And once I finished reading this book, and reviewed my notes, I was still amazed at how much more I knew about each of my family members, particularly the one family member who until then I wondered if he even had emotions.

You cannot passively read a book like this, and expect to heal what ails you. You must partner with John Bradshaw, to understand who you are, through who you have and may still be surrounded by.

I had one challenge, in reading this book: John Bradshaw advises readers to ask relatives about facts about other relatives. In some families, communication is so toxic that no one will tell the truth.

And when this is the case, in your family, as you ask yourself the questions, look around you, and expect to find the answer, through holding the question close to your soul.

Also, if you haven't read a book like this, and done extensive work, prior, you could look around you, and see who in your life is a mirror of your family members.

This will speak volumes to you.

Reading this book, prior to hosting my family reunion was so cathartic that my mantra became, "I don't care how many actually show up. I'll do my part to encourage those who do show up to feel welcome."

What I noticed, and continue to notice, as a result of having read this wonderful book, is that no matter where we come from, we can use that past to claim our voice. And doing this does require us to admit, over and over again, what was, and what we desire.

For those who believe that looking back in the past is blaming those from the past; dangerous; or, is a risk of being trapped by the past, I must say that having studied my past, I am free to look at my notes and see that what I was really doing was accepting who and where I was then.

It is in accepting our deepest pains that we automatically enhanced who we are.

Read this book to use your past to catapult yourself into your true self.

Reading Family Secrets allowed me to understand my family and myself at a deeper level. While reading the book, I often burst into tears of healing and compassion for myself and those in my family of origin. It allowed me to give myself a break about some of the things I've done and things I thought, realizing that I got those beliefs unconsciously from my family. It is a must read for anyone looking to truly understand their family and love themselves.

This audiotape was just so enlightening to our whole family. It was like "WOW" this is us exactly. After recently experiencing a Family Week at The Meadows where we also experienced an awakening about feelings and how important it is to "feel"in order to be your real self and have intimate relationships. This tape reinforced all of this information and then even more to help a person become who he really is. I only wish I had had this information before I had my family. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a family crisis before you really look at the dysfunctions in a family that goes from generation to generation. I will share these tapes with everyone I come in contact with. John Bradshaw did an excellent job - I also enjoyed the humor he used.

This two-tape package brings you another Bradshaw workshop that shines with John's humor, wit, and insight. John shares, in a warm and personal style, his insight about the cost and danger of being "super-nice" while sacrificing being real in life. John points out that the articifially super-nice persona prevents genuine intimacy and sharing.

I highly recommend this set of tapes if you want more insight into being real in your life.

This book has helped me more than any other book I have read related to recovery from childhood wounds. My addiction to books led me to read hundreds of books on recovery issues (especially when I was going through my own discovery phase of recovery from childhood physical, psychological, emotional and sexual wounds,including just about every book on shame ever written (I admire John Bradshaw's work as well). I highly recommend this book to all of the ladies that I sponsor in recovery and I have purchased a copy of it for my counselor who has a love of books as well. I have not seen anything like this book. Reading through the material related to each of the 12 "shaming messages" increased my awareness 10 fold and helped me to identify with the core beliefs that I held about myself for so long. God bless Dr. Wilson! Phenomenal book!

This is an excellent book. It is not just for academics. It is for everyone. This is a book that gives insight, understanding, and strength to it's readers. Read this book. Your worth it!

I have been a suffer of complusive eating and bulimia for the past twelve years. Dr. Bradshaw is terrific in describing this disease. He made me feel that there is hope for all the suffer from any of the eating disorders that he covered in this audio series.I would highly recommend this book to anyone that needs encouragement and explaination of eating disorders. I have never realized how much family roles has to do with eating disorders and also with recovery. Once again I would encourage any one with an eating disorder and or a family member that know of some one with a eating disorder to listen to the audio tapes.

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This is a great way to reinforce all the great information contained in the book. Each tape is somewhat connected to the other but are devided into various aspects of relationships(work, marriage, children, etc.)that can be examined seperately as well. I've only listened to the series 4 or 5 hundred times! Bradshaw has provided a wonderful base for exploring basic human desires and needs without evangelical zeal but with basic conversational common sense.

This is one of the best works that I have ever read. Honest, with clear direction on what steps to take to improve the state of your life. Highly recommend!

I love this book, I wont let my friends touch it. It's totallyworth the dollars, it tells you about the greatest NFL players ever. For example: Steve Young, the best left-handed Quarterback ever,and Jerry Rice, the greatest all-time wide receiver ever.

In just under 200 pages, JL Bradshaw, an Australian neuroscientist, presents a clearly written view of the evolution of the human mind. No pop sociobiology material here; the book fairly summarizes a large amount of research on topics ranging from the hominid fossil record to the evolution of language, tool use and social intelligence. If you want to get a quick handle on these issues, this book is highly recommended.