Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab

2 reviews

dsarbear's review

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Honestly the more I read the more the information seemed a little reductionist and potentially harmful. I want to be better at setting boundaries, but not if that's what it looks like. I also felt like the author didn't take into account anyone who doesn't live a very specific lifestyle. There was a lot of what felt like victim blaming language (sorry if you're fat or poor, apparently). My therapist recommended this but I don't think I can in good conscious continue listening. 
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throwback682's review

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challenging informative medium-paced

3.75

I think this book could potentially have a lot to offer some folks, especially in context of other books on setting boundaries. I have a few problems with it but I also liked a lot of things. Some things I simply wish would've been covered earlier in the book, such as asking yourself whether your requests are reasonable, and asking yourself if you're trying to change the other person on an intrinsic level. In my mind, those should be basic reflections before you ever set a boundary, as a part of understanding what a boundary actually is, but in this book they were an afterthought many chapters in. I also think the author and I have different definitions of "boundary". For example, "Be home by 5:00" isn't a boundary. It's a command. An explanation I find helpful about boundaries is "Boundaries aren't 'You won't' but are 'I will'." Sometimes I feel like her examples blurred that line. Particularly the example about the family with the alcoholic dad; I felt the son was trying to make rules for his dad instead of set boundaries for himself. All that being said, some of the examples were extremely helpful. I liked how many examples she gave and how much language she provided for different scenarios. I also liked that she used both straight and queer couples in her examples, and that there was at least one passing mention that indicated she was not assuming that monogamy is the standard for every relationship.
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