Book Thirteen: Boundaries

Boundaries: When to Say Yes and How to Say No to Take Control of You Life by Henry Cloud and John Townsend is one of those books.  You know... those books... the ones you love-hate.  For the co-dependent, the authors of Boundaries speak much truth; but it's only truth if you are willing to do the self examination.

The book sets forth a biblical-based foundation for embracing and setting boundaries as part of taking ownership of your life on different levels:  Emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. It is an interesting concept and quite frightening at times--especially for those struggling to find balance between servant-hood and the resentment that occurs as you overextend yourself.

This book would really lend itself to group work just to build the support a reader would need to complete the work. Making yourself less available to family and friends is exhausting work.  You must stay vigilant in protecting yourself and rewriting those thinking scripts that have been in place since childhood.

The authors aren't confrontational, but they give the reader the tools to confront themselves, again, if they are willing to do the work.  On a personal level, I had too many 'a-ha' moments to count and I even broke my cardinal rule 'we do not write in books'.

As I see it, Boundaries really provides some exceptional tools for living and while I may not agree with all the approaches herein, this book is remarkably thought-provoking.