Instant New York Times Bestseller
From the bestselling author of Set Boundaries, Find Peace, a road map for understanding and moving past family struggles—and living your life, your way.
Every family has a story. For some of us, our family of origin is a solid foundation that feeds our confidence and helps us navigate life’s challenges. For others, it’s a source of pain, hurt, and conflict that can feel like a lifelong burden. In this empowering guide, licensed therapist and bestselling relationship expert Nedra Glover Tawwab offers clear advice for identifying dysfunctional family patterns and choosing the best path to breaking the cycle and moving forward.
Covering topics ranging from the trauma of emotional neglect, to the legacy of addicted or absent parents, to mental health struggles in siblings and other relatives, and more, this clear and compassionate guide will help you take control of your own life—and honor the person you truly are.
Nedra’s core belief is that relationships contribute to mental health. They can cause you pain or they heal you. She focuses on taking your relationships seriously and teaches the art of having tough but intentional conversations to create positive change. OR you’ll learn how to sever ties when the relationship is unmanageable.
None is more influential than the formative years we’ve had with our family of origin. A lot of people lament that not everything is about the family, but yup, so often it’s true. In childhood, most likely we weren’t allowed to be ourselves, so our true selves started to develop when becoming an adult. Like a butterfly using its colossal strength to break out of its chrysalis, we too must use our emotional colossal strength to break out of our childhood mold in order to fly. We are able to have relationships with family on our terms.
Nedra outlines several different types of familial relationships and how challenging it can be to work through dysfunction or things we have considered normal that are not. Nedra also provides wisdom and tools on how to overcome the many challenges that occur in relationships with family members with gentleness, understanding and realistic observations and advice.
Please keep in mind that there will likely be much to unpack from both your childhood and adulthood. It can be an incredibly emotional process in which you might need to take breaks and pauses. However, it is a worthwhile endeavor that will allow you a new, healthier perspective on your relationships with others, and it will cause you to re-evaluate yourself and how you interact with others. This is necessary wisdom for cultivating peace and harmony in your life.
I wish fellow readers an eye-opening and heartfelt journey. Be kind and gracious to yourself during this experience and best wishes in creating and living your most authentic life.