Obsessive Love

Antony and Cleopatra, Madame Bovary, Anna Karenina - great romantic figures, whose stories have moved and inspired generations of lovers. Yet they were also victims of a passion which took over their lives, ultimately destroying them. Loving obsessively is indeed the stuff of grand drama and tragedy, but away from the spotlight it cripples millions of ordinary men and women. People who suffer from the frustration of preoccupation with someone they desperatly want and can't have. People who struggle with being the object of someone else's obsession. Through case histories, the author illuminates the full spectrum of obsession, from lovers who can't let go, to rescuers who pursue chronically troubled partners, to obsessives who turn relationships into prisons. She explores the painful roots of obsession in childhood and demonstrates the self-help techniques she uses to help obsessives win freedom from their futile and destructive quest. She also offers advice to those who are involved with obsessive lovers. Other work by Susan Forward includes "Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them", "Betrayal of Innocence: Incest and its Devastation" and "Toxic Parents".