John Bradshaw identifies 10 reasons (which he calls demons) that destroy relationships, such as high expectations, inefficient communications, family rules, familiarity, need for parental-type of partner. Each reason made me take a hard look at how I contribute to the demise of my relations. Each reason is well thought of and hits home. John also points out to other works that can be a valuable follow up. I highly recommend this tape as a must have for those who are serious about relationships. John talks to you and not at you in these tapes.

Thank you John for a wonderful insight!

I loved this book. Having been divorced 2 times I knew that I needed help in the area of relationships. John Bradshaw clearly showed by example and explanation the problems I was having in the areas of separation anxiety and fear of commitment. I feel as if this book showed me a way to better understand my past mistakes and gave me hope for my future relationships. A true genius !

John Bradshaw's "Family", "Healing the Shame that Binds You" and "Homecoming" changed my life. The first showed me where I came from and how I got to be the way I was. It gave me understanding, and the knowledge that I wasn't crazy and hopeless. I was taught to be that way.

The second book helped me to identify the specific ways it all happened, to remember it, and then it gave me hope that I could unlearn it all and be retrained. I could learn ways to change things to make things better.

The third book gave me direction, and tools to correct my behaviors and dysfunctional behaviors, and the ability to change my life. To really heal, without fear.

Now years later, I am happy and doing very well.

I whole-heartedly recommend these three books to anyone that is having any relationship problems or childhood issues, any type of addiction or codependent issues, feelings of inadequacy, insecurity or loss of self esteem.

In these books, there is knowledge that will heal you, there is hope to change, there is courage to gain and there is a better life.

My gratitude to you, Mr. John Bradshaw!

CE

Wow! Bradshaw picks up where his book, "Healing the Shame That Binds You" left off. He helps the reader to identify problems that arose out of his/her family setting and/or traumatic settings in early life. He then goes on to explain how one's past may well be having a negative impact on their CURRENT, adult life. Finally he helps the reader to eliminate and neutralize those negative impacts and truly become a whole and complete adult. If you find that your life is still going around in circles after reading Healing the Shame that Binds you, then you NEED this book! It is LOADED with pratical information and application. (If it doesn't become required reading for therapist courses abroad I'll be very suprised. It is fantastic! ) No..you are NOT a screw up according to Bradshaw.

If you have suffered from a difficult childhood, especially one which included an alcoholic, this book is a must read. Because he lived the life himself, John Bradshaw brings empathy to the task in buckets. The tests require honesty about yourself, but if you find that you fit the "wounded child" profile, this book will absolutely help you get out of the rut of recrimination that has dogged you most of your life. Perhaps the best part about his method is that it is relatively simple and you do it yourself. There are no expensive psychological or psychiatric tests, appointments, etc. I was so impressed that I bought the book for my brother and sister. And now, my sister and I are going to attend a Bradshaw lecture on a slightly different, but related, topic.

I was looking forward to getting this book.I was disappointed that it has alot of the same cakes and ideas that several of my other books already have.If you don't have any books on fondant or only have a couple, then i would suggest getting this book.It has lots of picture's & does a good job on explaining what to do.

This is a fabulous cookbook! After doing Wilton-style decorating for years, the fondant recipes in this book are very creative and will earn ooos and ahhs from others. I've made six or seven of the cakes in this book and all turned out wonderful- they are time consuming but aren't really difficult- they just require patience. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to cook artisically. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who rarely bakes and just wants a quick, simple cake.

I just recieved this book about a month ago, and how amazed I was. There are so many wonderful ideas in this book. It's a must for any cake decorator to have in there collection! It has full, easy to follow, color page instructions for each of the cakes, including recipes for cakes and icings used. There's a Volts Wagen cake that they shaped out of regular square cake. Awesome! The barbie cake is so beautiful, any little girl would fall in love with it. I could keep going on and on. I totally recommend this book, and hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Booth defines religious addiction and abuse then goes over a twelve step program of recovery. This book shines a light into the dark recesses of religious abuse. The person who is the most addicted and abusive may very well be the person who is admired by outsiders for their religious conviction. The children and spouses see a very different picture. I think this book would be helpful to someone who was willing to consider the possibility that they have a problem. I think it is more likely to be read by someone affected by another's addiction than by the addict herself. Booth says he has success in his practice of working with religious addicts so perhaps they can be helped. In my experience though it seems that the people who fit his description of a religious addict are the ones who would never consider that they may be wrong or that their religion is causing a problem. For these cases Booth presents ideas for staging an intervention when the addict/abuser will not admit to the problem. Good luck.

One problem I have with the book is his anti-atheist bias. He wants to bring the people to a better spirituality but considers atheism to be a negative outcome. He sees it as a backlash to abuse. He must be aware that people can arrive at atheism in many different ways. He seems pretty open minded otherwise. People who want a healthier relationship to their faith without giving it up should be comforted by the fact that he is in no way trying to talk them out of their faith. He is a man of the cloth himself.

I'd recommend this book for someone who thinks his or her religious involvement may be getting out of hand. For the abused children or spouse of an addict it's a start only. I'd like to see a lot more awareness that religion can be used in such a damaging way and this book is a step in that direction. Abused children are in the worst position since society doesn't really recognize this type of abuse and is not prepared to do anything about it. (I read the hardbound version.)

In this book, Fr. Leo outlines the problem of being addicted to religion. He outlines the steps one can go through as the addiction comes to dominate one's life, and outlines the steps necessary to break free from this addiction. Being a religious addict myself, I really enjoyed this book. He described my life to a 't' in this book, and it has helped me break the chains of religious addiction and has helped me attain a more healthy spirituality. If you even suspect you might have a problem with your religiousity, I highly recommend this book.

...Wonder why there are so many used copies of this book for sale? I would like to sell my brand new copy, but there are already seven other disappointed readers out there trying to sell theirs! This book is filled with ideas which are too ridiculously silly for words. Unless you are a Brady family member, in which case you will think these activities are "super!". I couldn't even leave this book out for friends and family to look at because the ideas are so stupid. Really. I can't believe anyone who uses this book would play more than a few of these games. If you must buy this book, please help someone out and buy a used copy!

Simple Fun explains how to obtain balance in your life. Unlike more well meaning advise books, Simple Fun gives you the skill-set to do it,day after day. Your family wants you to read this book.

This book is exactly what I have been looking for! It's a collection of many easy ideas for ways to have fun in many daily activities, such as waking up & going to bed, dealing with chores, and waiting. My imagination doesn't extend much beyond playing "I Spy" with my children, so we really need this book. The author also discusses why play & fun are important, but any parent or person involved with children knows this. This book gives you concrete ways to have fun, encourages you to use your own imagination, and best of all, you don't need lots of money or "stuff" to use these ideas. As the author says, "the best things in life aren't things".

Healing The Shame That Binds You is an integral read for anyone going through a recovery process. The concept of shame is intangible and esoteric, which makes this book a harder read than some of the more popular self help books, but Bradshaw's work is a classic for a reason. Bradshaw provides an understanding of the pain we carry from the past, the role we take on early in life to control others' emotions, how we continue to live life through others, how this dynamic contributes to depression, and how we can break the cycle. The end of the book overviews a number of tools we can use to further understand 'the shame that binds us'. While I wouldn't recommend Bradshaw's book for anyone new to recovery, it's highly recommended to those who are looking to take their journey into self-realization to a new level and looking to become more intimate with their deepest emotions and difficult memories in order to heal.

This is a powerful question to ask youself, and those around you, in the face of self-defeating thoughts and comments.

I thought I had converted every shame-wound from my childhood into empowering habits, ones that guide me to solve my biggest problems ---until I reread this book.

The first time that I read this book, 7 years ago, I was so glad to have a name for the shame-wounds that I kept recreating in every aspect of my life.

And once I had a great definition, and many examples of how I not only experienced shame, but also recreated it, I taught myself to respond to my experiences, instead of reacting to them.

But what was missing, in all of these years was someone to mirror my evolved self.

John Bradshaw points out that we who have come from a shame-based childhood need a circle of people who mirror are needs, wants and beliefs, because it was people, our primary caretakers, who passed on to us their disowned shame.

Even though I have read so many books, and have evolved so much, I have had the opportunity to recognize in rereading this book that I need to be witnessed by a circle of people, which I will call my adult family -- without that recognition we all stagnate.

Years ago, I couldn't phathom joining such a group, for 3 reasons:
1. I have no chemical dependencies;
2. I feared that baring my soul to a body of strangers would
mean that I would be permanently humiliated and ashamed;
and,
3. I didn't recognize my need to heal my financial wounds.

Well. Thanks to this book I have found that courage to be more visible to a group who positively contributes to part of my journey. I've also healed so well that even if I bare my soul to someone who is toxic, someone who won't be able to compassionately respond to my authenticity, reading this book has helped me to see that I am more than my dark sides.

I advise anyone reading this book to do so, with pen in hand. And ask yourself what it would be like to grow, while you are visible to people who are free to allow you to be visible to them.

With understanding and appreciation of toxic shame, you will process all of your emotions, and love yourself for that.

Thank you, John Bradshaw.

John Bradshaw has written a thorough, concise guide to victims who suffer from toxic shame, in order to help them identify the shame they are feeling and then to alleviate and eliminate that shame. An all-intrusive emotion, toxic shame can devastate a life, destroy marriages, and leave the suffering victim alone and confused. Bradshaw has drawn a road map for these victims to help themselves find the way out of the endless cycle of shame and guilt that surrounds their lives every single day. Since he is also a victim of childhood abuse, Bradshaw has a keen insight into the haunting terrors of being ashamed of your family because of alcoholism, drug dependence, sexual abuse...he covers it all. This book is a must-read for the adult who has been raised in a traumatic setting. Healing the Shame that Binds You is a life-line to victims, and can be the first step on the road to recovery from toxic shame and other psychological problems brought on by dysfunctional family situations.

This book is terrible. Useless talk about"The inner child" and extremely poor writting mar this so-called self help book. Help yourself, don't read it

I cant beleive this book isnt bein published anymore. it was a ground breaker for me. I came from a seriously dysfunctional and abusive "family"(the f-word to me). Before i read this book, i had no idea there was a logic or order to the chaos of an abusive household, I guess i was very naive. This book is the one that started me on my path to recovery from my past.

I discovered this book when it was first published . It was the only way may husband would get any "help" He has panic disorder and his family was not disfunctional in the way we think of it. no alcohol no physical abuse, But Oh the emotional abuse! The Bill of Rights in the back gave him the tools he needed to release himself from the tie that bound him to his very disfunctional family. Find it. Read it. It can change your life

A friend gave me this book because she was offended that someone else had given it to her. I read it because I've always wondered about the ideas behind the terms "dysfunctional family", "inner child", and "co-dependent".

Unfortunately, the book didn't help me much with those terms. The author says it's based on a PBS series that he did. Unfortunately, it comes across as if he improvised it. The definitions are imprecise, and for some concepts, it's hard to figure out which sentences ARE the definitions. That makes the conclusions hard to follow.

Bradshaw seems to sell a lot of books, so presumably he's touching something in a lot of people. And what he's trying to do is very important. I hope lots of people become better and happier as a result.

But between inventing his own slightly-too-cute terms (e.g., "dis-ease", "patriarchal pedagogy", "deep democracy") and presenting things in clever-but-not-useful formats (he summarizes each chapter by a series of notes, each of which begins with the letters that make up a key phrase, e.g., S.T.A.G.E. I. R.E.C.O.V.E.R.Y.), he does almost nothing useful for someone who's trying to get an intellectual handle on his field.

If I wanted to know more about this field, I'd probably ask "cycworker"!

This is a book that will change your life, if you work it, are open to it, and are ready to "look" at yourself. I have read many of Bradshaw's as well as others, and the first time I picked this up, I thought, "yeah, I know what he's going to say". But when my therapist suggested I re-read it, because I was already journaling, doing dream interpretations, etc... it held a new facsination for me. I could relate in a way I never did the first time. Everything in time, I guess. Give it a try, if you already know that life isn't perfect, parent's aren't perfect, and you can give yourself a big break, and start living the life you deserve! Happy searching!

This publication is a great read for the individual who is just opening up to the idea that perhaps his/her family of origin is not perfect! The audio version is great for a quick lesson in family dynamics and John Bradshaw's delivery is entertaining and to the point. If you are wondering if historical events from childhood could be impacting the way you live your life and form relationships, this one is for you!

"Primal Love" is thoughtful and thought-provoking. It attempts to explain our gender-based differences through the sciences of evolutionary biology and primate behavior. You can learn alot form those crazy bonobos. While this book did not engender quite the "aha moment" that Harville Hendrix's work did, it did give me quite a few insights into my rather conflicting attitudes about money. I found it to be just a tad skewed toward the male perspective. It would be interesting to read something on the same material written by a woman. I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to gain more insight into gender-based behavior.

Primal Love provides readers a wonderfully informative profile of our human sexuality (as males and females) by focusing not on theory that is based upon psychological "mombo-jumbo" but on the bio-anthropological roots that drive our sexual: desires, behavior and social interaction. For those people trying to evaluate and determine the reasons for their social sexual behavior, this book will give you the "peace of mind" knowing that our (especially male) desires and behavior stem from evolution, and nature's pre-programmed model of perpetuating our genes as a species. Simply knowing the roots driving our human sexuality allows us to better understand and our sexual behavior.

Explains the relationships between the sexes in the context of Evolutionary Psychology. I have recommended this book to several of my female friends who want to better understand why men are they way they are. This book provided me with some great insights and comfort at a time I was going through a painful breakup. Much more interesting, believable and useful than "Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus.