This is one of the best books on codependence. Read it and your life will change.

This is the best book on Co-dependence I have ever read. And I have read a few. And Pia Melody does it without any put downs. Co-Dependence is not something you can choose or not choose to do. It is a result of things that have been done to you. And you cannot begin to conquer it until you fully understand what happened to you. This Pia Melody does with such insight and understanding solely because she lived it. If you or someone you know is dealing with co-dependency (and most of us are) do them a favor and tell them to get this book!

Mellody and her coauthors, to the enduring benefit of the practice of psychology, do their part to rescue the technique of digging through the past from its Freudian fixation on Oedipus.

Using a working definition of childhood "abuse" as any behavior by caregivers that is "less than nurturing," she relentlessly and in gruesome detail disects the roots of dysfunctional adulthood dependencies.

I agree with the reviewer who complained that the term "codependence" has become too much of a catch-all. Having a prefix indicating "two," that word is better reserved for particular kinds of dysfunctional relationships.

That said, this book succeeds brilliantly at its task. Which is to allow individual readers to face up to exactly where the unhealthy dependencies in our lives come from. Which in adulthood result, not just in codependent (instead of "interdependent") relationships, but in a myriad of perplexing issues that sabotage our lives.

A classic from the pioneer who originated the concept of "boundaries" in psychology. Get ready to embrace your demons.

Orange Papers verbatim:

The A.A. God:
The A.A. God is the generic brand that comes in a plain white box at the supermarket.

The A.A. God has a lot of will. He has a Will for everything and everybody, and everybody is supposed to do something to please God. Apparently, the A.A. God did not succeed in making the world the way that He wanted it to be, so both He and his followers have to be constantly changing things, trying to get it right.

The A.A. God is an authoritarian male figure Who closely resembles an Old-Testament patriarch, like Charlton Heston playing Moses.

The A.A. God is a dictator.

The A.A. God wants you to be a slave forever.

The A.A. God loves you the most when you are grovelling on your knees, confessing what a worthless sinner you are. Only then will the A.A. God do favors for you.

The A.A. God is highly illogical, if not outright insane. First, the A.A. God will stick you with the genes for alcoholism and make you a born alcoholic, then He will wish you weren't an alcoholic and an excessive drinker. Go figure.

The A.A. God has a grand plan for you: First, incurable alcoholism, and then, more incurable alcoholism.

The A.A. God is so harsh that He will condemn you to a horrible painful death by alcohol unless you properly perform your sycophant duties every day. The A.A. God routinely kills alcoholics who don't Work the Steps thoroughly.

When the A.A. God heals alcoholics, He only fixes them for one day at a time. For some unknown reason, God's magic wears off after 24 hours.

The A.A. God micromanages the world. He is constantly tweaking everything, pulling millions and billions of puppet strings to make things happen differently, to make things turn out exactly the way He wants, and to convenience some of his followers.

The A.A. God cheats at solitaire.

I have read a dozen books on the subject. For me, this was the first semi-clinical book which explored how codependency is not only behavior inherited but can also be passed on down to the next generation, even coming from a parent with the best intentions completely unaware of the problem. The author has a deep awareness of the problem's subtleties and this is certainly one of the pioneer books that should be in every library concerning codependency.

In what may be one of the best books ever on functional parenting, Mellody and the Millers have tackled the single most common psychiatric phenomenon of our time, deconstructed it into language most can grasp, and set forth a means of re-parenting those who didn't get the real deal the first time around.

For mental health professionals, this may also be one of the best books available for patient (with sufficient ego strength) and/or family education on Kernberg / Preston Level One and Two Borderline Personality Disorder, as well as for family education with regard to pretty much the entire spectrum of borderline, narcissistic, passive-aggressive and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.

I have read at least a dozen lay and professional books addressing the topic of "codependence." While Melody Beattie's and Patricia Evan's work, and the -Codependents Anonymous- and new -Adult Children of Alcoholics- "big books" -are- terrific stuff, this looks like the most accessible, research-grounded, well-organized and tool-delivering of the lot. (Anyone seriously set upon recovering from boundary difficulties with others is well-advised to just read them all, of course.)

Owing to the input of the Millers, -Facing Codependence- is more a product of modern "patient education" or "psychoeducation" theory (see Rankin's and Stallings's -Patient Education- or any of the books in the "Compact Clinicals" series) than the other books currently available. This is not the hodgepodge of useful data developed by committee in the two afforementioned 12 Step groups, and is more functionally set forth in the fashion of Lev Vygotsky's "scaffolding" than Beattie's more famous or Evans's more narrowly targeted books.

Beyond that, the progressive, level-upon-level organization of the book and concrete examples of both functional and dysfunctional parenting make it hands-down one of the finest guides to raising effective, pathology-free children ever published. If it were up to me, this would be required reading at the college freshman level.

In what may be one of the best books ever written on functional parenting, Mellody and the Millers have tackled the single most common psychiatric phenomenon of our time, deconstructed it into language most can grasp, and set forth a means of recovery that can produce results outside the 12 Step group structure.

Moreover for mental health professionals, this may well be one of the best books available for patient (with sufficient ego strength) and/or family education of Meissner or Preston Level One and Two Borderline Personality Disorder, as well as for family education with regard to pretty much the entire spectrum of borderline, narcissistic, passive-aggressive and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.

I have read at least a dozen lay and professional books addressing the topic of "codependence." While Beattie's and Evan's work, and the Codependents Anonymous and new Adult Children of Alcoholics "big books" -are- terrific stuff, FC may be the single most accessible, research-grounded, and tool-delivering of the lot. (Anyone seriously set upon recovering from the problem is well-advised, however, to read them all.)

Owing possibly to the input of the Millers, FC is the more of product of modern "patient education" or "psychoeducation" theory (see Rankin and Stallings) than the other books currently available. It may be the work of three minds, but it's anything but the hodgepodge of useful data developed by committee in the two afforementioned 12 Step groups, and is more through-composed in the fashion of Vygotskyan "scaffolding" than Beattie's more famous or Evan's more narrowly targeted books.

Beyond that, however, the progressive, level-upon-level organization of the book -- not to mention the concrete examples of both functional and dysfunctional parenting -- make FC hands-down one of the finest guides to raising effective, pathology-free children ever published. If it were up to me, this would be required reading at the college freshman level.

When a few month ago a person who I felt and thought was most important to me came into my life and my husband disagreed, I was thrown into a huge personal crisis. Little did I know much less understand that the heart of the problem lay in my co-dependence. I was very lucky because through friends of mine I found a therapist who knew about and taught me about co-dependence. Suddenly all of the contradictions - which seemed to indicate to me that I must be crazy - started to make sense. To supplement and deepen my understanding my therapist suggested reading Pia Mellody's `Facing Co-dependence'.

Pia Mellody herself is a recovering co-dependent and that she knows from personal experience what she's talking about is very evident in her book. In part I she starts by describing co-dependence and explaining very concisely where it comes from. What she calls the 5 core symptoms are: expressing appropriate levels of self-esteem, setting functional boundaries, owning and expressing your own reality, taking care of your adult needs and wants and experiencing and expressing your reality moderately.
In part II she explains what she thinks are the five natural characteristics of children and how functional homes deal with them. While functional parents will help their children to develop these characteristics properly dysfunctional ones will not. I don't have children but still I found it very interesting and helpful to read Pia's description of how a child will be treated in a functional home. It's a very helpful part of the book no matter whether you use that information to compare your own childhood experiences to what it should have been or could have been or whether you use it as your guideline to treat your own children functionally or for both.
Dysfunctional parenting forces the child to defend itself against painful or threatening experiences by developing dysfunctional behavior patterns that are often continued into adulthood because (a) they worked so well when they were needed and (b) these children were never taught to behave functionally.
In Part III Pia describes many forms of abuse and explains how they relate to her understanding of co-dependence. It's amazing how many of our acceptable parenting techniques are detrimental to our children rather than pedagogically valuable.
When reading this part of the book I again felt very strongly that even if you are not a co-dependent it cannot hurt you or those around you for you to become aware of the information in Pia's book. You may save a life or two!!!
Part IV is about recovery. And the key to recovery is to acknowledge the parts in ourselves that never grew up and to assume the role of a functional parent and do what our parents were unable to do: show ourselves the fallacies in our thinking/feeling and offer alternatives. We have to be our own parents.

Pia says that even after working as a therapist for as long as she has, she still isn't 100% healthy 100% of the time but she measures success by how long it takes her to recognize dysfunctional behavior/thoughts in her life and the amount of time it takes her to deal with them in a functional way. I've found this honest assessment encouraging and also discouraging at the same time. It's encouraging because it let's you easily and quickly see progress but it's also discouraging because the fantasy of every being completely free of this disease is squished. *sighs* Oh, well... I matter! I am enough! I don't have to be perfect. Not even perfectly functional. (lol)

So, who should read this book? Everybody! That's my answer to that question.

When a few month ago a person who I felt and thought was most important to me came into my life and my husband disagreed, I was thrown into a huge personal crisis. Little did I know much less understand that the heart of the problem lay in my co-dependence. I was very lucky because through friends of mine I found a therapist who knew about and taught me about co-dependence. Suddenly all of the contradictions - which seemed to indicate to me that I must be crazy - started to make sense. To supplement and deepen my understanding my therapist suggested reading Pia Mellody's `Facing Co-dependence'.

Pia Mellody herself is a recovering co-dependent and that she knows from personal experience what she's talking about is very evident in her book. In part I she starts by describing co-dependence and explaining very concisely where it comes from. What she calls the 5 core symptoms are: expressing appropriate levels of self-esteem, setting functional boundaries, owning and expressing your own reality, taking care of your adult needs and wants and experiencing and expressing your reality moderately.
In part II she explains what she thinks are the five natural characteristics of children and how functional homes deal with them. While functional parents will help their children to develop these characteristics properly dysfunctional ones will not. I don't have children but still I found it very interesting and helpful to read Pia's description of how a child will be treated in a functional home. It's a very helpful part of the book no matter whether you use that information to compare your own childhood experiences to what it should have been or could have been or whether you use it as your guideline to treat your own children functionally or for both.
Dysfunctional parenting forces the child to defend itself against painful or threatening experiences by developing dysfunctional behavior patterns that are often continued into adulthood because (a) they worked so well when they were needed and (b) these children were never taught to behave functionally.
In Part III Pia describes many forms of abuse and explains how they relate to her understanding of co-dependence. It's amazing how many of our acceptable parenting techniques are detrimental to our children rather than pedagogically valuable.
When reading this part of the book I again felt very strongly that even if you are not a co-dependent it cannot hurt you or those around you for you to become aware of the information in Pia's book. You may save a life or two!!!
Part IV is about recovery. And the key to recovery is to acknowledge the parts in ourselves that never grew up and to assume the role of a functional parent and do what our parents were unable to do: show ourselves the fallacies in our thinking/feeling and offer alternatives. We have to be our own parents.

Pia says that even after working as a therapist for as long as she has, she still isn't 100% healthy 100% of the time but she measures success by how long it takes her to recognize dysfunctional behavior/thoughts in her life and the amount of time it takes her to deal with them in a functional way. I've found this honest assessment encouraging and also discouraging at the same time. It's encouraging because it let's you easily and quickly see progress but it's also discouraging because the fantasy of every being completely free of this disease is squished. *sighs* Oh, well... I matter! I am enough! I don't have to be perfect. Not even perfectly functional. (lol)

So, who should read this book? Everybody! That's my answer to that question.

The good thing about this book is that it identifies a problem that few popular selfhelpbooks target indepth. The only other book that comes to my mind is Robin Norwoods bestseller: "Women who love too much". It deals with a certain aspect of codependency, although Norwood doesn't use the word codependency as far as I know.
The thing I liked less is the authors personal approach. She wrote this book from her own perspective. It has fire because of that, but I feel it lacks objectivity, statistics, links to other empirical studies. What worked for her need not work for someone else.
The author's emphasis on the belief in a Higher Power as an important part of the recovery process is, to my Dutch atheistic eyes, something that makes the book very foreign.
Pia Mellody gives common sense advice on how to deal with the problem, but the advice is rather general. She often gets listy, offering rather abstract checklists.
All in all, a good book, but it wasn't the one that helped me most. I liked "an Adult Child's guide to What's Normal" slightly better.

this is a great book for any who, like myself, want to know not only the "how to" of fixing unhealthy repeatitive themes in our lives, but the "why" and "where" of how it all came to be in the first place. she goes over the various types of abuse that encompass far more than the obvious physical beatings and sexual molestation but emotional, intellectual and spiritual as well, and describes how people who are neglected or abused in these ways develop into adults. for those who are steadfastly seeking healing, an accompanying workbook "breaking free" offers exercises for self-exploration and growth.

This is the first book on codependence that really relates to me. It's like reading my life story and it helps to understand why I am like I am. If your childhood was more about taking care of your parents than them taking care of you, this is a must read.

This book is fabulous. I am recovering from being codependent. It has been a struggle but I am very proud of the work I have done. This book has helped me understand so much about the problems of codependency. I highly recommend it.

This is a very good book explaining the root of codependence and the problems associated with it. It is very useful for people experiencing high levels of codependence. Perhaps a very painful eye-opener for those who are ready to face this type of awareness (if we are not ready, we can just deny it). However, I think that this book does not emphasize enough that codependence occurs in varying degrees. The best book that eloquently explains this as well as the process of becoming codependent and how to release ourselves from it is 'The Ever-Transcending Spirit' by Toru Sato. It is an incredibly well-written book and should be read by every adult in the world!

Marina Kushner
Author
The Truth About Caffeine: How Companies That Promote It Deceive Us and What We Can Do about It

This book was recommended by my therapist. It opened my eyes to a few things I did not see before. It helps you put words and faces to things you see and experience. It is very enlightening and helpful!! I would highly recommend it for anyone. It helps you to see and understand codependency, and ways that it manifests in our lives and childhood. It gives examples of functional and the dysfunctional. I just got the workbook that goes along with it, and am currently working on it. I give it many kudos!

We all know that when we drop a stone in one part of a pond it creates ripple effects. Its the same thing with a person's life from the very beginning, what happens to him or her in childhood creates a ripple effect or domino effect all the way to the present. People often say that they are who they are not just because of their inborn traits but also because of their experiences in life. If what you have experienced in childhood made you who you are, which in turn influenced your behavior in your adolescent and teen-age years, which again added new negative experiences for we know how brutal adolescent and teen-age years are, which again affected you and rippled effect to your 20's....the vicious cycle doesn't end. It is like what Chaos Theory is saying, "Sensitivity to initial reaction" it is observed everywhere: one domino, in a long line of dominos, fall..the rest fall too one by one; in a house of card you take off one from the bottom and a slight mistake will make the whole house of card fall; how you angled your shooting arm SLIGHTLY different from how you usually shoot a basketball affects the angle of the ball GREATLY by the time it gets close to the rim....this is because the effects can be INCREMENTAL, meaning for example as a person is growing up, the effects of childhood may not be noticable because its effects are incremental over the years, it COMPOUNDS in a way that you are not AT THE RIGHT LEVEL in your life...everybodys doing a Marathon and your not doing anything with your life at all, or your doing a one-hundred meter dash while everybody else is doing a Marathon, my point is your not doing it LEVEL by LEVEL as you grow up which in the long run compounds enough to begin to affect you adversely. If you were not doing anything in life at all later on you'll feel sorry for it for everybody lived their life, their at 8 and you are still at 4, and if you tried to be so ahead all of your life you might one day regret it because you didn't get to live life like how everybody else lived life, they went through 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10, you jumped from 1 to 10, MISSING OUT all in between! so childhood has a long effect on a person's life, maybe you can incrementally break free of your childhood, see what happens.

We all know that when we drop a stone in one part of a pond it creates ripple effects. Its the same thing with a person's life from the very beginning, what happens to him or her in childhood creates a ripple effect or domino effect all the way to the present. People often say that they are who they are not just because of their inborn traits but also because of their experiences in life. If what you have experienced in childhood made you who you are, which in turn influenced your behavior in your adolescent and teen-age years, which again added new negative experiences for we know how brutal adolescent and teen-age years are, which again affected you and rippled effect to your 20's....the vicious cycle doesn't end. It is like what Chaos Theory is saying, "Sensitivity to initial reaction" it is observed everywhere: one domino, in a long line of dominos, fall..the rest fall too one by one; in a house of card you take off one from the bottom and a slight mistake will make the whole house of card fall; how you angled your shooting arm SLIGHTLY different from how you usually shoot a basketball affects the angle of the ball GREATLY by the time it gets close to the rim....this is because the effects can be INCREMENTAL, meaning for example as a person is growing up, the effects of childhood may not be noticable because its effects are incremental over the years, it COMPOUNDS in a way that you are not AT THE RIGHT LEVEL in your life...everybodys doing a Marathon and your not doing anything with your life at all, or your doing a one-hundred meter dash while everybody else is doing a Marathon, my point is your not doing it LEVEL by LEVEL as you grow up which in the long run compounds enough to begin to affect you adversely. If you were not doing anything in life at all later on you'll feel sorry for it for everybody lived their life, their at 8 and you are still at 4, and if you tried to be so ahead all of your life you might one day regret it because you didn't get to live life like how everybody else lived life, they went through 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10, you jumped from 1 to 10, MISSING OUT all in between! so childhood has a long effect on a person's life, maybe you can incrementally break free of your childhood, see what happens.

I read a lot of books with similar titles to this one. But this one is dramatically different in the sense that it (for me) correctly identified that the condition I live with is all about me... and that it lives and operates in me without having anything to do with anyone else - except that the actions of others can trigger me.

I feel that a lot of other books on codependence seem to invoke depictions of "someone that supports and enables another person's destructive habits". I would judge that to be a tiny subset of the behaviour, and not much to do with the problem at all. Pia describes how it is really a disease of impaired emotional maturaty as a result of abuse suffered during childhood. (And by abuse, it doesn't take terrible beatings to do the damage and create the condition). She then describes all the symptoms and issues that it creates in our lives. For me, it was like looking in a mirror.

The key point I wanted to present is that this book is different. I strongly believe that other addictions are medications to help mask and dull the pain that comes from codependence.

I have purchased five copies of it now... I keep giving it away.

As a professional Christian Coach I am especially mindful of that which I encourage clients to read. Ms. Mellody provides sound insight into the world of codependency based upon solid clincal intervention. At Truth Coaching, we come along side of great people, who may be stuck at times. This book is a fantastic resource for those stuck in codependency.

A counselor referred me to this book...and it has changed my life! I am reading it a second time now. I never knew answers on why I am the way I am and this book does that for me. I would HIGHLY recommend this book! I am lucky because I had assistance understanding the theories about codependence and how to overcome the symptoms. I don't know if this book is as good without some professional guidance, but I think it is a great start for anyone. I am beginning Mellody's follow-up recovery workbook "Breaking Free" in hopes of an ultimate and infinite cure. Again, I highly recommend this book.

I am not an expert in this field but as far as I can tell there are at least two distinct strands of co-dependance. There is the type that is induced during adulthood by exposure to an adult addict. Then there is a form induced during childhood via what Pia describes as 'abuse'.

I came into this subject as my wife has been diagnosed with codependancy. The Melodie Beatty books don't come close to describing her symtoms. Pia's book hits her case perfectly. So the usefulness of this book will depend upon which of the two cases concern you.

This books gives the clearest and most detailed explanation of the symptoms and progression of this illness I have come across and her metaphors for describing some of the internal driving forces behind the behaviours are excellent.

One thing that may irritate some is that Pia describes almost any form of dysfunctional parenting as abuse - whilst she is right by her definition it can appear harsh. Her sections upon dysfunctional parenting are extremely helpful - especially as codependants usually pass the disease to their children via this mechanism.

All in all, if you have a form of codependancy induced during childhood I believe this book is a MUST ahve.

Facing Codependence is one of the most life altering books I have read... It outlines simple situations that as an adult we do on a daily basis. Not only does the book give examples, but the underalignement of our actions. The book unvails who we are and where we learned certain patterns. As I read the book, I recalled many situations of my own life. We are codependent in one form or another. The challenging part is to act on it and change...

I give many thanks to Pia Mellody for her research and courage to understand human beings... Thank you!!!!

Ralph

How did codependence become such a catch all phrase? I got this book to get a better understanding of what codependence is. However this book is not about codependence. It is a book about the effects of growing up in a dysfunctional family system. If it didn't keep trying to lump everything under the codependent label I would have no problem with the book.

Get Codependent No More instead. It is a much better book.

How did codependence become such a catch all phrase? I got this book to get a better understanding of what codependence is. However this book is not about codependence. It is a book about the effects of growing up in a dysfunctional fanily system. If it didn't keep trying to lump everything under the codependent label I would have no proble with the book.

This book wholeheartedly changed my life. Mellody gives a fantastic insight into the underlying causes and symptoms of codependence and how deeply it can influence a person's life. THough worth it, this book is a difficult read; the material is indepth and can be confusing to someone who is unfamiliar with the true "roots" of codependence. It is also difficult from an emotional perspective as it will certainly drudge up any issues on the surface of one's subconscious. Facing codependence was like opening a door to an entirely new level of my own healing process. It has helped me improve every important area of my life, especially relationships; Mellody's insights also help the reader become very area of OTHER codependents. When I originally flipped through the book(2 or 3 years ago), I was dismayed to read that recovering from codependence can be a long (3-5 year) process. Three years later, I realize how accurate that statement is. The workbook is also very helpful, but difficult to get through since dealing with an issue of this nature is often emotionally painful. If you are truly committed to your own healing path, this book is a must.

After struggling 16 years in marriage, and in countless other areas, I read this book as part of a college course I took "Shedding Shame/Gaining Grace." I never knew why I did the things I did, and why I couldn't stop...This clearly and succintly revealed what I was doing and the reasons behind it. I now have a clear path of healing and restoration, and hopefully it will bring our marriage back into focus...

I couldn't put this book down after reading the first 5 pages. It described my experience so vividly. I was shocked and scared.

This book describes why and how codependents come about. It describes the causes as well as the symptoms. Majority of it has to do with our childhood experience, especially with the caregivers.

Unlike one reviewer, I do not think this book "bashes" the parents. Parents naturally account for most responsibilities when we were children. After we learned about these, we have to nurture the gratitute and know that our parents did the best they knew.

The book offers excellent coverage among all of the causes, symtoms, and some recovery strategies.

For more information on recovery, one should read Pia's newest book "Intimacy Factor" for more information, and "Breaking Free" for step by step workbook. Attending local CoDependency Anonymous (CoDA) meetings also helped me, but not as much as Pia's books.

I've read all three of Pia's books. I am so grateful Pia would spend the time and energy to write these books. They helped me tremandeously. I highly recommend Pia's books.

This is a very good book explaining the root of codependence and the problems associated with it. It is very useful for people experiencing high levels of codependence. Perhaps a very painful eye-opener for those who are ready to face this type of awareness (if we are not ready, we can just deny it). However, I think that this book does not emphasize enough that codependence occurs in varying degrees. The best book that eloquently explains this as well as the process of becoming codependent and how to release ourselves from it is "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. It is an incredibly well-written book and should be read by every adult in the world!

Some things said simply are more powerful thanks to their simplicity. This book provides a forceful, unflinching description of how people who are raised in a dysfunctional or abusive environment often sabotage and cripple their lives. The structure of the book is straightforward. The situations Mellody discusses are often sound sadly ordinary rather than extraordinary. But the resulting emotional resonance of this book is undeniable.

Mellody methodically dissects the disorder she calls codependency. She first explains how when working with addicted individuals as a nurse in a recovery center in Arizona she saw a repeated pattern of dysfunctional behavior in individuals and their families that went beyond the addictions for which the individuals were being treated. Her work there and her own personal development led to the conclusions in this book. (One of the wonderful aspects of the book is that when Mellody talks about codependents and their behavior) she does not speak condescendingly about "those codependents", but rather uses examples that begin with "I" or "us." This creates a powerful intimacy.

There are four main sections to the book. The first section details what she sees as the core symptoms of codependency: difficulty experiencing appropriate levels of self-esteem, difficulty setting functional boundaries, difficulty owning and expressing one's own reality, difficulty taking care of one's adult needs and wants, and difficulty behaving moderately. The second section details how dysfunctional family can push a child (whom Mellody describes as inherently valuable, vulnerable, imperfect, dependent, and immature) into codependency. The third section describes the many kinds of abuse (most of which are not obviously traumatizing on first review) that can push an individual, particularly a child toward codependency. And the last section provides a very preliminary road map to healing codependency: the first step she argues is an awareness of one's codependent state, and second step is a desire to change.

The book addresses well struggles that are an issue for many/most people. It touches on feelings that make books like "The Prince of Tides" and Alice Miller's "The Drama of the Gifted Child" resonant for so many. Here the presentation of more clinical, but not necessarily any less moving. I have two main complaints with the book. First, I don't think the term "codependent" does justice to the broad variety of symptoms that Mellody covers. In fact, I think the title of book alone might dissuade people who otherwise benefit from reading the book. I don't have a wonderful alternative, but I think a title like "Facing Dysfunctional Behavior" or "Facing Self-sabotaging Behavior" would be more accurate. Second, as in many of the twelve-step programs, Mellody consider a "Higher Power" an element in addressing codependent behavior. In reading the book I saw no reason to bring in this concept, and doing so might limit the applicability of these insight to those who are so predisposed. A good, and surprisingly powerful, little powerful book.

I am from Mexico, I speak spanish and I like to have the book "facing codependence" in spanish. Could you help me? I like to get the cassettes also. Thank you. Maybe the book is in spanish, how can I get it here, I have been looking for it but I can not find it. Please, help me! Is urgent.

One could be extravagant about the grandior of this book. But it is simply a well written book that could change your life. It is simple and Truthful. I will open your eyes and hopefully your life to how much better it could be.

Easy to read and easy to understand, this book (and it's workbook, "Breaking Free") helped me more than four years of therapy. I've recommended it to many of my loved ones and friends. Worth buying and keeping. A bible of recovery.