Saturday, May 7, 2011

How to Hug a Porcupine by Dr. John Lewis Lund





Title: How to Hug a Porcupine: Dealing with Toxic and Difficult to Love Personalities
Author: Dr. John Lewis Lund
Reviewer: Karen
Genre: Adult Self-Help
Rating: Love
Alerts/Warnings: None
Premise: "Dealing with toxic and difficult to love personalities." (King County Library System)
Opinions: This book is fantastic if you want to learn how to deal with a loved one who you love, but simply can't trust or like at the moment due to the way they treat you. It explains how someone with a toxic personality "is anyone who adopts manipulative behaviors and attempts to control others in selfish ways" (pg 5). It is full of insights and stories, citing examples from Dr. Lund's own patients who struggled with family or friends with very toxic personalities. This book teaches you how to protect yourself so that you can choose to stay in the relationship if you want without letting it destroy you. It also gives you clearer ideas to know when the best option is for you to leave. Later in the book Dr. Lund also discusses what to do if you realize that you are the one who is toxic and want to overcome yourself. I found this book very helpful for me personally and highly recommend it for anyone else dealing with toxic family or friends.

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