Customer Reviews

God Help Me! These People Are Driving Me Nuts!: Making Peace with Difficult People

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I would have given the book 5 stars if I hadn't read his other book, "parenting With Grace..." There is some overlap in the material which I think could have been avoided. However, I still think this book is a gem. Most of it is devoted to resolving conflict with people whom you would like to continue a relationship with, but are somehow having trouble with at the moment. The author's strategies for dealing with friction in relationships is squarely rooted in Catholic spirituality. He counsels the reader to assume a positive intent behind even the most negative behavior, a loving and affirming approach in line with the treatment philosophies of other great therapists like Virginia Satir. He is also realistic in pointing out situations when the "difficult" person is someone with whom you should sever the relationship completely. Everyone who wants to resolve interpersonal conflicts in a positive way should read this book. It's also an excellent thesis on how to love one's neighbors (and enemies. They may well turn out NOT to be enemies after all, when you take the trouble to find out the positive intent behind the negative behavior and realize that their nastiness really has nothing to do with you personally). Good work, Mr. Popcak. Keep those gems of wisdom coming!