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Title: This is not about true abuse
Review: I was deeply disappointed in this book. I am desperate to find some effective strategies for dealing with a verbally and emotionally abusive parent. The author makes one good point: that what abusers want is to get attention and a "rise" out of you. But her strategies for avoiding this are *only* useful for very *mild* cases. I laughed out loud at some of the techniques she thinks would work. She clearly does not know my abuser. She herself does note this, by saying that some people have an underlying problem that has to be solved before the abuse will stop. But what to do in that case? Her only answer is that you may have to leave, and of course one can't "leave" a parent. She completely ignores that the verbal abuser is usually blackmailing you in a very effective way until you give in to them. Ultimately, the book is misnamed. This is not about verbal *abuse,* but simply about becoming more effective communicators with normal people.
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