Rating: 
Summary: Ready to change?
Review: If I could read only one book of this type, this would be the one. The first half of the book helps you uncover how much shame is threaded throughout your existence and day to day living. The second half helps you learn what to do about it. Don't stop in the middle and make sure you have a lot of caring support if you read this. But I highly recommend it if you are ready to grow!
Rating:
Summary: retrieve your soul from hell
Review: it is no exaggeration to say this was the most helpful self-help book i've ever encountered. for a long time i was always a seeker but could never get to the bottom of the "soul sickness" i felt within my deepest sense of self. i was operating under the general theory my soul had been stolen from me in my early childhood. i could never feel right about who and what i was as a person. this book truly opened my inner eye and gave me the insights and tools to take that mythical inner journey into my own "underworld" and find and retrieve my soul. after many years of depression, divorces, alcoholism, feeling absolutely defective as a human being, this wonderful book brought tears to my eyes, light to my mind, and true healing to my heart. i feel now i am a completely differant person than i was during those years of toxic shame hell. while the growth is still ongoing, the light and growth of self esteem i've found are sure and precious treasures "the universe" , [ God? ] has blessed me with. if your life seems depressing and out of control and sad; please read and reread this masterful work of self exploration. it can save you from much shame and pain. if you are as toxically shame based as i was, this book could very well save your life and engender a new feeling in your heart and soul: peace and happiness!
Rating:
Summary: Sensitive, probing study of toxic shame
Review: John Bradshaw has written a thorough, concise guide to victims who suffer from toxic shame, in order to help them identify the shame they are feeling and then to alleviate and eliminate that shame. An all-intrusive emotion, toxic shame can devastate a life, destroy marriages, and leave the suffering victim alone and confused. Bradshaw has drawn a road map for these victims to help themselves find the way out of the endless cycle of shame and guilt that surrounds their lives every single day.Since he is also a victim of childhood abuse, Bradshaw has a keen insight into the haunting terrors of being ashamed of your family because of alcoholism, drug dependence, sexual abuse...he covers it all.This book is a must-read for the adult who has been raised in a traumatic setting. Healing the Shame that Binds You is a life-line to victims, and can be the first step on the road to recovery from toxic shame and other psychological problems brought on by dysfunctional family situations.
Rating: 
Summary: For All Those Living In the Shadow of Shame...
Review: Many suffer from the damaging effects of Toxic Shame. A little-explored subject, it causes one to feel defective from the core of one's being. The roots of shame come from abuse and dysfunctionality in the family and early socialization in school. People then tend to measure their worth against external standards and feedback and when it is negative or lacking, can feel a devasting loss of self. Whether perpetrated on an overt or covert level, the damaging effects can last a lifetime, leading people into mental illness, addiction, and crippling disfunctionality.Bradshaw gives a diagnostic and thereapeutic vocabulary to those who desperately need it. Some people are shamed by the same people over and over again (ie: spouses and family) and need the tools with which to cope. Based on the twelve-step paradigm, Bradshaw shows us how to recognize the signs of toxic shame and how to (with the help of a therapist and/or healing community) eventually overcome it.
Rating:
Summary: Changed My Life
Review: My whole life is divided into two sections - the the time before I found John Bradshaw and the time after. Everything else relates to that. He was the ONLY one would could explain to me the basis of my life's problems and the solutions. He takes an eclectic approach - bringing in all of his knowledge important theorists, going way back to Europe and he combines it with his many years studying theology, family dynamics and of course, his own practice, workshops and alcoholism. He was able to tell me so much about myself. I also found the book to be excellent at reaching men - who would before - not want to talk about themselves. John started out as a catholic priest - and is now ministering to many more than he could have ever reached back in the monastery in Toronto.
Rating:
Summary: Get the dictionary!
Review: This book really helped me start the healing process. I came from a dysfunctional home and didn't realize it until just recently! It is a great start, but do have the dictionary handy, as some of the words are technical! I have to say, these self-help books should be written for the "average" person to be able to read and understand without the technical words! Do us "shamed" people a favor and write the books so we can read it without looking up a word and rereading the sentence to make sense of it! But all in all, it is helpful in understanding myself and my "feelings." I also have the book, "Facing Shame." I haven't read it yet, but I will keep the dictionary handy, just in case! Good luck to all of you who are trying to heal your inner-self!
Rating:
Summary: Will You Love and Accept Yourself for Doing That?
Review: This is a powerful question to ask youself, and those around you, in the face of self-defeating thoughts and comments. I thought I had converted every shame-wound from my childhood into empowering habits, ones that guide me to solve my biggest problems ---until I reread this book. The first time that I read this book, 7 years ago, I was so glad to have a name for the shame-wounds that I kept recreating in every aspect of my life. And once I had a great definition, and many examples of how I not only experienced shame, but also recreated it, I taught myself to respond to my experiences, instead of reacting to them. But what was missing, in all of these years was someone to mirror my evolved self. John Bradshaw points out that we who have come from a shame-based childhood need a circle of people who mirror are needs, wants and beliefs, because it was people, our primary caretakers, who passed on to us their disowned shame. Even though I have read so many books, and have evolved so much, I have had the opportunity to recognize in rereading this book that I need to be witnessed by a circle of people, which I will call my adult family -- without that recognition we all stagnate. Years ago, I couldn't phathom joining such a group, for 3 reasons:
1. I have no chemical dependencies;
2. I feared that baring my soul to a body of strangers would
mean that I would be permanently humiliated and ashamed;
and,
3. I didn't recognize my need to heal my financial wounds. Well. Thanks to this book I have found that courage to be more visible to a group who positively contributes to part of my journey. I've also healed so well that even if I bare my soul to someone who is toxic, someone who won't be able to compassionately respond to my authenticity, reading this book has helped me to see that I am more than my dark sides. I advise anyone reading this book to do so, with pen in hand. And ask yourself what it would be like to grow, while you are visible to people who are free to allow you to be visible to them. With understanding and appreciation of toxic shame, you will process all of your emotions, and love yourself for that. Thank you, John Bradshaw.
Rating:
Summary: I never knew who I was until I read this book.
Review: This was the most amazing piece of work dealing with shame based personalities that I had ever read. While reading this book I found many answers to questions that I have been asking myself for years and was never able to find. Also the recovery methods that were described were the most helpful then all the other self help books combined. When I started reading this book I started to cry and continued crying all through the book. When I finished reading the tears did not stop because I was so sad that I finished this book.
Rating:
Summary: Very enlightening
Review: What a great book on understanding myself, my family and significant others in my life. A good friend gave me his copy. Now I am buying 5 books for my friends.
Rating:
Summary: Change My Life
Review: What happened to the review I just wrote?
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