Boundaries After a Pathological Relationship – Book Review

Author: Adelyn Birch

Genre: Psychology, self-help, abuse, mental health

My rating: ★★★★★

Release Date: Published 12th January, 2016 by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Format: Paperback, 68 pages

“Boundaries protect your emotional and physical health, and they protect you from the behaviour and demands of others.” – Adelyn Birch

What did I think?

First off, this is a short book, a ‘booklet’ you might say, at sixty pages. It is not a polished read, however it is genuinely helpful in understanding what boundaries are, what your rights as a social human being are, and how you can create and defend your boundaries. This is especially important for those who’ve been in dysfunctional relationships as an adult or as a child. Some families don’t have healthy boundaries, nor teach them, so it’s possible to reach adulthood and not have learnt the basics (that others learn!) about creating and keeping boundaries with other people.

This book is aimed at the more extreme cases, but it will be helpful for many others, too. Birch states that while all abuse is a boundary violation, not every violation is abusive. Having boundaries and people pushing back on them is actually part of normal life. People need to know how to navigate that.

Other helpful book sections include signs of weak boundaries, examples of boundaries and when ‘love’ enters the mix. Working on the advice in the book would be good preparation for survivors before entering another relationship or for others who want to improve on their current, reasonably functional, relationships. Birch warns that her advice is NOT for fixing current or past dysfunctional relationships.

‘Boundaries After a Pathological Relationship’ can be used by individuals, but there will be some readers who would do better using it in conjunction with a therapist. Adelyn Birch herself is not a professional therapist but was a nurse who experienced a psychopathic relationship first hand and wrote this book from personal experience.

For more info: Goodreads or bookstore. I think this is unlikely to be found in the library.