Rating: 
Summary: Shame is shame
Review: When the author describes the damage of shame he is right on. However, he describes shame as a normal healthy emotion. It is not. He describes 'toxic shame' as the unhealthy emotion. Shame, straight from Webster's: 1a. A painful feeling brought about by a strong sense of guilt, embarrassment, unworthiness, or disgrace. b. Capacity for such a feeling 2. One that brings dishonor, disgrace, or condemnation. There isn't anything normal or healthy in that definition. Yet, the author creates the illusion of a 'healthy shame.' As long as the reader stays true to shame as 'not healthy' and disregards any imaginary reference of 'healthy shame,' 'Healing the Shame That Binds You' has insightful views in the realm of shame.
Rating: 
Summary: Be Careful
Review: While this book is in many ways a quite helpful and insightful look into the subject of shame and shame-based identities, it leaves much to be desired. Like many psychological theories, it makes the mistake of considering its own presuppositions and values to be 'value-neutral' and benign. True to its postmodern roots, its picture of what it means to be human selectively borrows bits and pieces from traditional and modern views of what it means to be human to suit its own purposes, irrespective of reason, internal consistency, or concern for truth. For example, throughout the book Bradshaw makes use of Judeo- Christian imagery, selectively reinterpreting it to accord with the dictates of his shame theory, and rejecting other doctrines of the Christian faith (e.g. hell) when he thinks they don't. What he does here is illuminate for the discerning (and truly caring/loving) reader the lack of responsibility and the bankruptcy of a postmodern worldview. He undermines the very values he portends to uphold.Many of Bradshaws' insights into shame and proposed remedies do, in light of a Christian (or even merely traditional) view of the world and humans' place in it, make sense and can make a decisively huge impact in the quality of life experienced by those who apply them. In this context, rather than degenerate into a sloppy relativism, they recognize the truths that can change someone's life in a meaningful and lasting manner. With these general concerns and qualifications in mind, I would recommend the book... like most things you read, take this one with a grain of salt.
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