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Title: Facile and simplistic
Review: The author's recommendation for responding to verbal abuse from a spouse or significant other amounts to "cleverly change the subject, and all will be well". That might work with small children, but it doesn't work with abusive spouses. The author's prescription reflects a breathtaking lack of appreciation for what the victims of verbal abuse are subjected to, day in and day out, often for many hours at a time and with no meaningful way to escape, and is quite reminiscent of 'just say no' as a cure for drug addiction. I think that a good deal of the problem comes from the lack of a clear distinction between abuse and occasional crankiness. The author's word games may offer a polite way of deflecting the latter, but as to the former they are a surefire prescription for continuing to be abused. I don't know what the solution is, but you won't find it in this book.
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