Power of You: Learning How To Leave is dedicated to freeing those stuck within toxic relationships including codependent victims of narcissistic abuse. Compassionately grounded in science and embedded in the author's 25 years plus of clinical experience, this is nevertheless an easy and powerful read. Learn how to spot the warning signs of unhealthy relationships, understand how they develop and take practical steps to escape safely, heal fully and avoid getting hooked again in the future. Refreshingly straight-talking, this book encourages the reader to recognise the tactics used against them, disarm the abuser and reconnect with the empowering life they could be living "Sometimes we need to throw that stone and call the judgment and just see things and people for what they are!" - Michael Padraig Acton Michael Padraig Acton's 30+ years experience as a therapist and life coach, plus engaging case studies plus insights from experts across different fields, are packed into this fascinating, hard-to-put-down guide that will empower abused sufferers - and those who care for them - to escape their toxic binds forever... and move towards lasting health in their relationships. Tackling narcissistic abuse, domestic violence, codependency, coercive control and more, Learning How to Leave explores toxic relationships in intimate relationships, families, corporations, business partnerships and more. Michael Padraig Acton is dedicated to revealing the connection between narcissistic personality disorder abuse and domestic violence that is spreading disaster and death across the world while letting the abusers walk free and repeat their crimes. The power of knowledge, understanding and support offered to victims of toxic relationships can be a life-changing step towards freedom. The Narcissist's Mantra "That didn't happen. And, if it did, it wasn't that bad. And, if it was, that's not a big deal. And if it is, that's not my fault. And if it was, I didn't mean it. And if I did, you deserved it."

'The poster girl for divorce.' The Times 'If you've ever had your heart broken (and who hasn't) Rosie Green's How to Heal a Broken Heart is your best friend. Honest, comforting and hopeful.' MARIAN KEYES 'I love Rosie Green's writing.' ELIZABETH DAY 'Brilliant. One of the few books that I've found that really describes what a broken heart feels like. It touched so many nerves.' VANESSA FELTZ 'It reduced me to tears.' EMMA BARNETT, Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4 'It wasn't a conscious uncoupling. I had my heart ripped out and stamped on.' When Rosie Green's husband walked out after 26 years together, he declined to leave a forwarding address. Instead, he left a devastated woman who turned into someone she barely recognised: unable to eat or sleep, and so desperate to keep her family together she'd sacrifice her sense of self - and her dignity. She thought she'd never get over it. But she did. And so can you. This is the frank, uplifting and insightful book Rosie wished she could have found when her whole world fell apart. Here's your guide to getting through it - with advice from the experts, with the help of your friends, with a deliciously dark sense of humour and, for Rosie, with some highly inappropriate sex advice from her pre-teen daughter. Let her brilliantly honest handbook show how you can heal faster, understand yourself better and move on. How to Heal a Broken Heart doesn't sugarcoat it - heartbreak brings you to your knees. But, sometimes, it also gives you a necessary shove towards a happier, more fulfilled life than you ever dreamed was possible.

'Will help so many learn to recognize what an abusive relationship is' - Mel B 'I read it all in one sitting, it is brilliant! This book is so relatable and Maddy's funny and engaging approach starts serious conversations' - Teresa Parker, Women's Aid Are you forever finding yourself in the stranglehold of controlling companions? Well, fear not, because once you've finished reading this book, you'll be able to wave ta-ta to unhappy and unhealthy relationships for good. Consider me the Psycho Sprucer, Bad Boy Buster, the Hot Mess Assessor - ready to leave your love life sparkling. How to Leave Your Psychopath is a candid account of the complex, subtle nature of coercive control and abusive relationships from comedian Maddy Anholt, who - until her eyes were opened - had spent her entire dating life trapped in them. Relatable and accessible, the book covers all the common techniques these toxic twerps use to exert control, including gaslighting, breadcrumbing and negging. This book is the ultimate handbook to help you see and respond to red flags, recognize controlling traits, and learn to give any prospective date a score on Maddy's unique 'Psychometer', from super-empath to psychopath. Vitally, by interweaving psychological insight and autobiographical anecdotes, Maddy shows you the road to self-discovery, leading you on the path to safer dating and a healthier, more joyful life. Funny, judgement-free and full of brilliant first-hand advice, this empowering guide will help anyone ditch their controlling partner to find freedom and happiness.

This book carefully and compassionately tours the divorce process from the very first considerations one has when contemplating divorce through getting back on one's feet once the divorce is completed. Along the way, the reader is advised about ways of controlling anger and not demonising the divorcing partner; putting the concerns of children first; avoiding destructive, warring attitudes; equitably dealing with child custody matters; choosing a divorce forum (mediation or litigation); finding good, honourable legal representation; working with judges and accountants; and putting personal lives back together after the trauma of divorce. A thorough yet tidy handbook made up of many small sections that can be easily digested during a time a crisis, when one's mental attention may not be at its most acute, the book will guide both husbands and wives to a dissolution of marriage that is as peaceable and constructive as possible.

With a fresh, sympathetic and reassuring approach, Uncoupling provides tried-and-tested advice that will help anyone going through a break-up. It is the book that Sara looked for - and couldn't find - when going through the process herself, so she is only too well aware how few places people feel they can turn to for compassionate and practical advice. Uncoupling combines Sara's extensive training in life-coaching techniques, her cutting-edge work with those who are themselves 'uncoupling', and her own personal experience. Her advice will show you how to navigate the pitfalls and will make the process easier. It is all about being in emotional control and Uncoupling will help you build your personal strength so that you can deal with the rollercoaster of emotions more effectively, enabling you to move forwards. It is all about putting you back in control.

Some of the statistics are well known, if still jarring: One of two marriages contracted will end in divorce. More than a million children each year experience their parents' divorce. Other figures are less publicized: Diagnosable psychological problems occur in 30%-40% percent of individuals whose parents divorce-a rate three times higher than that for individuals whose families remain together. Divorce and Co-parenting explores the impact of divorce on adolescents and young adults, drawing on anecdotes from the authors' own medical and law practices to illustrate how parents' decision-making can powerfully impact their children's well-being before, during, and after a divorce-even into adulthood. This volume, a revised edition of How to Help Your Children Overcome Your Divorce-originally published in the 1990s-is updated to reflect significant changes in family dynamics, technology and social media, and the matrimonial legal landscape over the past 30 years. This guide offers new methods of alternative dispute resolution, including mediation, arbitration, collaborative law, and parenting coordinators, as it addresses a wide variety of family situations, such as the following: * Uninvolved or absent noncustodial parents* Parents with mental illness* Incarcerated parents* LGBTQ parents or children* Sexually or physically abused children Although written to be a multidisciplinary resource for professionals in many settings-among them, psychiatrists, social workers, pediatricians, and attorneys-Divorce and Co-Parenting is written in an accessible, easily digestible style. This makes the book applicable for parents, grandparents, teachers, and even adolescents looking for practical information on mitigating the effects of divorce on the family.

Is your ex-spouse trying to gain custody of your kids? Has he or she launched a campaign to make you look like a bad parent, both in the eyes of your children and the law? You aren't alone. Unfortunately, high-conflict custody battles are all-too-common in today's world. So how can you arm yourself with the mental and legal resources needed to survive this difficult time and keep your kids safe? In "The High-Conflict Custody Battle," a team of legal and psychology experts present a practical guidebook for people like you who are engaged in a high-conflict custody battle. If you are dealing with an overtly hostile, inflammatory, deceitful, or manipulative ex-spouse, you will learn how to find and work with an attorney and prepare for a custody evaluation. The book also provides helpful tips you can use to defend yourself against false accusations, and gives a realistic portrayal of what to expect during a legal fight. Going through a divorce is hard, but going through a custody battle can feel like war. Don't go in unprepared. With this book as your guide, you will be able to navigate this difficult process and learn powerful skills that will help you maintain a healthy relationship with your kids, fight unfair accusations, and uphold your rights as a parent.

At 27 years old, I found myself with a broken down marriage and two children under two to raise on my own. I had no other option than to survive. Nah, scratch that, I needed to thrive. But where would I begin? I wasn't sure if I knew how to live alone, let alone how to boss it solo with a couple of kids in tow. It's been a hell of a journey signposted with dating fails, money worries and ex-husband woes, but when was a Back-up Plan ever straightforward? This book is the one I needed to read in the lonely 3am darkness of an unfixable marriage, lying next to a man I was sure I didn't want to be tied to anymore but whom I was too scared to leave. This book is the one I needed to read when I picked up my first packet of anti-depressants and read Elizabeth Wurtzel's Prozac Nation to feel off-the-cuff and cool (but just felt more depressed). This book is the one I needed to read in the infinitely long days that stretched ahead of me alone with two infants, minimal sleep and no hope. This book is the one I needed to read when shamefully I carted my two toddlers to Boots to pick up my very first Morning After Pill after my very first One Night Stand. This book is the I needed to read when my world was about to fall apart.

Using up-to-the-minute research on child welfare and psychology, Penelope Leach, author of the best-selling Your Baby & Child, shows parents why it is crucially important to prioritise children involved in parental separation, and how this can best be done. The reader will discover - often in their own words - what children of different ages are likely to understand and feel about the process, along with ways to help them cope. The book provides help with those difficult decisions about "access"; information about money and legal matters; and suggestions about handovers, holidays, and more.

Betrayal has many faces, including anger, abuse, deceit, and infidelity. If you've recently left a relationship where you felt betrayed by your partner, you may have difficulty moving on. In fact, it can seem impossible to view the world without the shadow of this past betrayal hovering over you, and as a result you may struggle to create meaning in your life and build new, loving relationships. In Living and Loving after Betrayal, clinical psychologist and anger management expert Steven Stosny offers you effective tools for healing based on his successful program, CompassionPower. This program was founded on the belief that individuals and societies are more powerful when compassionate than when angry or aggressive, and that true strength comes from relating compassionately to others and remaining true to your deeper values. In this book, you'll learn practical strategies for overcoming betrayal-induced trauma and chronic resentment using this compassionate approach. Most books on betrayal only focus on the big issues, such as infidelity, abuse, or sex addiction. This book explores all of these topics, but also explores less-talked-about betrayals, such as emotional manipulation, dishonesty and deceit, and financial betrayal. In addition, this book aims to help you regain a sense of trust in others so that you can eventually find another compassionate person to share your life with. Recovering from the betrayal of partner isn't easy, but there are ways that you can heal and learn to love again.

A workbook to help children work out their feelings about separation and divorce. Divorce creates stressful feelings of grief from loss and change, and children who are unable to understand or verbally express their feelings often act them out in unhealthy ways. This book discusses basic concepts of marriage and divorce and offers young minds a creative way to sort out and express all the powerful feelings resulting from their parents' decision to separate.

When Rossandra White walks into her Laguna Beach home one day to find that her husband of twenty-five years has disappeared--leaving behind only a cryptic, hastily written note on the kitchen counter as an explanation--she knows he'll come back. It's not the first time this has happened, and she trusts that their marriage, though tumultuous, will endure. But she soon learns that this time is different--and as new information comes to light, she realizes that the cracks in their relationship may have deepened past the point of repair.
In the midst of this turmoil, White's physically and mentally disabled younger brother needs her help. She returns to South Africa, land of her birth, to answer his call--and when she comes back to California, she finds that her dog Sweetpea, who for years has served as a vital emotional link between herself and her husband, has begun to succumb to a fatal illness. Ultimately, it is this core-rattling confluence of crises that forces White to face her own demons and make a decision: stay in a marriage that's crumbling before her eyes, or leave her husband and forge a new life for herself.

#1 New Release in Human Sexuality Transform the Way Conflict Affects Your Love LifeWant to bring more peace into your relationship and also get back that "spark" that's been missing? From bad breath to infidelity, find resolution for issues that cause division. If left unresolved, sources of disconnect can lead to major rifts in a relationship. Authors CrisMarie Campbell and Susan Clarke bring over twenty years of experience in family and marriage counseling and relationship coaching to this book. They cater their advice to romantic relationships and provide resolution strategies for women and men. Bring back the "spark" that's been missing. Passion is essential to relationships, and equally important across the spectrums of love, sex, and dating. Whether it's our first love or last love, in order for our bond with our partner to thrive, there needs to be a sense of excitement present. By transforming the way conflict affects us, we create a space for the intimate relationship or passionate marriage we long for to take root and grow. Conflict doesn't have to be a deal breaker. While arguments with our partner can get tiring, looking at those disagreements as opportunities to strengthen our bond rather than weaken it can have a significant impact on their effect. With conflict comes the chance to communicate and solve problems together. This can restore a sense of intimacy and connection with our partner, both emotionally and physically. In The Beauty of Conflict for Couples, you will find: Relatable stories that shed light on the common struggles of romantic relationships Practical tools that offer guidance for addressing conflict A source of hope for relationships that appear to be fated for failure If you and your significant other have looked for guidance in books such as Mating in Captivity, The 5 Love Languages, Hold Me Tight, or Campbell and Clarke's first book, The Beauty of Conflict, then you'll find a further source of resolution in The Beauty of Conflict for Couples.

In 2014 a media storm erupted when Gwyneth Paltrow announced her separation from Chris Martin, describing it as a harmonious and mutual 'conscious uncoupling' and the term entered the world's vocabulary overnight. Coined and created by relationship expert Katherine Woodward Thomas, the expression 'conscious uncoupling' has become synonymous with a divorce where both partners accept that they each played a role in the breakup and, in particular, are looking to co-parent in a functional and healthy way in the future. The Conscious Uncoupling 5 Step Process is designed to support separating couples through the thorny terrain of a breakup, helping them to consciously complete a relationship in ways that leave all involved whole, healthy and well, and optimistic about future relationships. CONSCIOUS UNCOUPLING offers a new paradigm for divorcing couples and is set to become a classic in the genre.

In every pub in every town unspoken stories lie beneath the surface.

Each week, six women meet at The Bluebell Inn. They form an unlikely and occasionally triumphant ladies darts team. They banter and jibe, they laugh. But their hidden stories of love and loss are what, in the end, will bind them.

There is Mary, full of it but cradling her dark secret; Lena - young and bold, she has made her choice; the cat woman who must return to the place of her birth before it's too late. There's Maggie, still laying out the place for her husband; and Pegs, the dark-eyed girl from the travellers' site bringing her strangeness and first love. And Katy: unappreciated. Open to an offer.

They know little of each other's lives. But here they gather and weave a delicate and sustaining connection that maybe they can rely on as the crossroads on their individual paths threaten to overwhelm.

With humanity and insight, Kit Fielding reveals the great love that lies at the heart of female friendship.

Raw, funny and devastating, all of life can be found at the Bluebell.

In many ways, divorce is a quintessentially personal decision-the choice to leave a marriage that causes harm or feels unfulfilling to the two people involved. But anyone who has gone through a divorce knows the additional public dimensions of breaking up, from intense shame and societal criticism to friends' and relatives' unsolicited advice. In Intimate Disconnections, Allison Alexy tells the fascinating story of the changing norms surrounding divorce in Japan in the early 2000s, when sudden demographic and social changes made it a newly visible and viable option. Not only will one of three Japanese marriages today end in divorce, but divorces are suddenly much more likely to be initiated by women who cite new standards for intimacy as their motivation. As people across Japan now consider divorcing their spouses, or work to avoid separation, they face complicated questions about the risks and possibilities marriage brings: How can couples be intimate without becoming suffocatingly close? How should they build loving relationships when older models are no longer feasible? What do you do, both legally and socially, when you just can't take it anymore? Relating the intensely personal stories from people experiencing different stages of divorce, Alexy provides a rich ethnography of Japan while also speaking more broadly to contemporary visions of love and marriage during an era in which neoliberal values are prompting wide-ranging transformations in homes across the globe.

A compelling examination of the social and legal experiences of lesbian, bisexual, and queer stepparent families Lesbian, bisexual, and queer families formed after the dissolution of a marriage face a range of obstacles. In Queer Stepfamilies, Katie L. Acosta offers a wealth of insight into their complex experiences as they negotiate parenting among multiple parents and family-building in a world not designed to meet their needs. Drawing on in-depth interviews, Acosta follows the journeys of more than forty families as they navigate a legal and social landscape that fails to recognize their existence. Acosta contextualizes the legal realities of LGBTQ stepparent families and considers the actions these parents take to protect their families in the absence of comprehensive policies or laws geared to meet their needs. Queer Stepfamilies reveals the obstacles these families face in family courts during divorce proceedings and custody cases, and highlights their distrust of courts when it comes to acting in their children's best interests, especially in the event of an origin parent's death. As LGBTQ families continue to make social and legal strides in acceptance and recognition, this important book shows how queer stepparents find ways to make their unconventional families work, despite the many social and legal obstacles they encounter. Acosta provides a fresh perspective, broadening our understanding about families in the twenty-first century.

Transformational and Wellness Expert Dawn Burnett has an impressive track record for helping people heal their pasts so they can transform from victim to victor. Like all of us, however, she has had a life filled with trials. The child of divorced parents and a survivor of abuse, she was in a toxic marriage that nearly took her life. These events, and the discovery that thought patterns and experiences are linked to health conditions which was revealed during her studies as an alternative medical practitioner, led her to a wake-up call. She left everything she knew, took her two kids, dog and belongings and drove seven states across country for a fresh start, a beautiful journey of accepting and loving self. Along the way, she charted a course to ultimate transformation and wellness on a path filled with valuable insight on personal relationships. She recognized that becoming trapped by the toxic emotions of our past can weigh down our spirit and sabotage any chance we have at happiness today or in the future. The result is Connect, a powerful book that provides effective ways to address key issues facing serious relationships. Filled with her personal triumphant story, and nine contributing authors, it reveals: the destructive patterns we create in relationships; the many ways we unintentionally sabotage our relationships and why we find ourselves settling for less than what we deserve. The solution is an empowering plan readers can implement themselves to heal their own hearts, fulfill their dreams, and find meaningful and lasting bonds with self and others. An opportunity for readers to finally connect to what they say they want-without compromising their authentic self; an opportunity to live their truth so they can thrive instead of cry.

Nancy Stevens captures attention as she leads you through an unimaginable divorce story of deception and cruelty. Offering insights and practical take-aways, she gives hope to readers experiencing their own journey. As a contented Army wife, married for forty-six years to a career Army officer, Nancy is faced with a cheating husband who, after conducting a clandestine affair, suddenly decides to divorce her. In thirty-one heart-breaking chapters, Nancy relates the twists and turns dealing with a pathologically lying husband, a scheming mistress who becomes the second wife, a military bureaucracy that protects its own, the traumas of legal issues and bankruptcy manipulation, ugly depositions and traumatic court appearances. With creativity, wit and humor Nancy's account reveals both struggle and hope. Helpful strategies and cogent advice are included at the end of each chapter plus words of encouragement throughout to help other women experiencing or contemplating divorce. These resources will help readers searching for answers on how to prepare, protect themselves and take the next steps.

'Gripping' Vogue 'Empowering' Cosmopolitan 'Joyful' Financial Times 'Eye-popping' Daily Mail When her 22-year-marriage suddenly ended, 47-year-old mother of three Laura expected life as she knew it to be over. What she hadn't expected: * An incredible one-night stand * A new-found sexual appetite * Ten men in eight months * That there is plenty of fun to be had after 40 From G-spots to bald spots, dirty talk to dating fiascos, Available is the unflinchingly honest, empowering, and humorous true story of one woman's love life after divorce. 'A real page-turner [...] Unexpected, original, funny and sometimes deeply infuriating, Laura Friedman Williams has so much to say about what we expect of women's sexuality. I loved it' Viv Groskop author of How to Own the Room