Life Preservers
Description
With wit, wisdom and uncommon sense, Dr. Harriet Lerner gives readers the tools to solve problems and create joy, meaning and integrity in their relationships. Women will find Life Preservers (more than 40,000 copies sold in hardcover) to be an invaluable motivational guide that covers the landscape of work and creativity, anger and intimacy, friendship and marriage, children and parents, loss and betrayal, sexuality and health and much more.
With new insights and a results-oriented approach, Dr. Lerner answers women's most frequently asked questions and offers the best advice for problems women face today:
> Should I move in with him?
I can't stand my boss.
Should I leave my marriage?
How can I recover from his affair?
Is my fantasy abnormal?
Is my therapy working?
I miss my mother.
I can't believe I was fired.
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Person
Harriet Lerner, Ph.D., is one of our nation's most loved and respected relationship experts. Renowned for her work on the psychology of women and family relationships, she served as a staff psychologist at the Menninger Clinic for more than two decades. A distinguished lecturer, workshop leader, and psychotherapist, she is the author of The Dance of Anger and other bestselling books. She is also, with her sister, an award-winning children's book writer. She and her husband are therapists in Lawrence, Kansas, and have two sons.
Content
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- To My Readers
- 1: Mr. Right and Mr. Wrong
- Introduction
- My Boyfriend Won't Talk About Problems
- Is He Having an Affair?
- What Is Intimacy?
- Why Can't I Find Mr. Right?
- Is He the One?
- My Fiancé Has a Violent Temper
- Should I Lie to Keep Him?
- He Won't Commit
- I Always Pick the Wrong Guys
- He Won't Wear a Condom
- What If He Says No?
- My Fiancé Collects Pornography
- He Wants to See Other People
- My Boyfriend Isn't Generous
- Should I Move In with Him?
- Do I Take His Last Name?
- My Boyfriend Is Bisexual
- He Hates Spending Time with My Friends and Family
- My Fiancé Doesn't Like Sex
- 2: Mending the Mind, Body, and Spirit
- Introduction
- I've Never Had an Orgasm
- Should I Find Out My IQ?
- I'm So Self-Conscious
- I'm Not Sure My Therapy Is Working
- Living with Chronic Illness
- I Just Can't Say No!
- I'm Ashamed to Undress in the Locker Room
- Am I Codependent?
- I'm Afraid I'm a Lesbian
- My Doctor Hugs Me
- Help! I'm Too Gorgeous!
- Don't Ask, Don't Tell
- Can We Cause Our Own Cancer?
- Is My Fantasy Abnormal?
- Should I Pretend to Be Happy?
- I Trusted My Doctor
- Should I Quit Group Therapy?
- My Abortion Haunts Me
- Sugar Pills
- 3: Friendship Matters
- Introduction
- Am I Too Needy?
- My Friend Is Dating a Jerk
- Lending Money to a Friend
- A Friend in a Wheelchair
- I'm Jealous of Her Success
- My Friend Isn't There for Me When I'm Down
- Angry with Fat Friend
- She Always Betrays My Confidence
- I'm the Only One Who Can Help
- My Best Friend Is Jealous
- Starting a Women's Group
- Have I Sold Out?
- To Lift or Not to Lift
- She Said/She Said
- Can't Take a Compliment
- What's Wrong with Giving Advice?
- How Can I Win My Friends Back?
- 4: Women at Work
- Introduction
- How Much Do You Make?
- I Can't Believe I Was Fired
- When the Lady Is Boss
- My Boss Is Too Critical
- I'm So Humiliated
- Is Volunteer Work a Good Thing?
- Minding Our Business
- I Can't Stand My Supervisor
- I'm Attracted to a Colleague
- Are Women Just a Bunch of Whiners?
- My Employee Has a Bad Attitude
- I'm Paralyzed by Criticism
- I'm a Homemaker and Proud of It
- Promotion Anxiety
- 5: No Place Like Home
- Introduction
- My Brother's Gay-and I'm Worried
- My Mother Wants to Live with Me
- My Sister Won't Quit Smoking
- Coping with a Suicide in the Family
- Should I Cross Dad Off My Wedding List?
- A Helping Hand
- I Miss My Mother
- My Brother-in-Law Made a Pass at Me
- My Distant Dad
- Is My Sister a Lesbian?
- My Parents Can't Stand My Boyfriend
- A Death in the Family
- My Sister's Husband Is Abusive
- Going Solo
- False Promises
- Keeping a Secret
- My Mother Is Driving Me Crazy
- The Power of the Unconscious
- Is It Weird to Plan Your Own Funeral?
- 6: Then Comes Marriage
- Introduction
- My Husband Betrayed Me
- Premenstrual Syndrome or Premenstrual Sanity?
- My Husband Is Jealous of My Therapist
- I'm Monogamous, He Isn't
- I'm Not Mrs. Smith!
- My Husband Left Me for a Man
- I'm White, He's Black
- I Love the Guy, but the Sex Is Terrible
- My Impossible Mother-in-Law
- Can a Vibrator Harm My Sex Life?
- My Doctor Says I'm Depressed
- I'm More Successful Than My Husband
- What Should We Name the Baby?
- I'm Not a Failure
- Choosing to Be Childless
- Should I Stay or Should I Go?
- 7: Parents in Recovery
- Introduction
- Do I Have to Breast-Feed My Baby?
- Adoption and Self-Esteem
- Does My Son Need a Man in the House?
- Helping a Child with Divorce
- Should We Allow Our Teenager to Bring Pornography Home?
- Should We Let Our Son Sleep in Our Bed?
- Talking to Children About Illness and Death
- Breaking a Promise
- Our Son Says He's Gay
- I'm Indulgent and He's Too Strict
- Is It Ever OK to Lie to a Child
- We're All the Same on the Inside
- Introducing an Adopted Child
- Telling Children Secrets
- Can Single Mothers Raise Boys?
- Why Do Adopted Children Search?
- Is It Really All My Fault?
- A Bereaved Child
- I Can't Stop Worrying About My Daughter
- 8: The World We Love In
- Introduction
- Girls, Ladies, or Women? Does It Matter?
- Is Hope Possible in This Violent World?
- Avoiding the F Word
- Color Does Matter
- Closets Are for Clothes
- Are Women Too Dependent?
- Women Who Read Too Much
- Are Women 50 Percent to Blame for Sexism?
- My Husband Has a Persecution Complex
- Tired of the Victim Mentality
- Whose Truth Counts?
- Finding the Right Therapist
- Hurt by Racial Prejudice
- I'm Uncomfortable Excluding Men
- Am I an Addict?
- Happy Mother's Day
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Books by Harriet Lerner
- Credits
- Copyright
- About the Publisher
