Amazon.com Review
With her characteristically pointed advice and take-no-prisoners attitude, Dr. Laura's book
Bad Childhood – Good Life tackles one of the most basic questions of therapy: How can a person effectively move past the injuries of a bad childhood? Her answer will be familiar to her fans—look at your current behavior and modify what you can change rather than simply venting your anger or allowing yourself to ever be victimized again.
Forget about simply accepting or forgiving your parents for their errors—Dr. Laura extols the virtues of conquering. Through excerpts from her radio show and letters from her listeners, she illustrates her points about guilt, anger and fear in personalized accounts from individuals. Short lists and question/answer sections make for an easy read that allows you to smoothly fast forward and backtrack to the topics you find most relevant at the moment—and numerous references to other chapters and her website provide all the additional information you could want. Faith is a subtle but definite component; some readers will find it the most helpful part of the book while it decidedly won't appeal to others.
Not everyone will agree with—or appreciate--her succinct manner that drives right to the root of issues. Like her show, the book presents absolutes rather than possible alternatives. For readers looking for a definitive method for moving past childhood issues, Dr. Laura might offer the solution. Jill Lightner
From Publishers Weekly
Tis the season, right? For childhood issues to flare up just in time for the trip home for the holidays. Instead of resolving to lose those pesky 10 pounds, 2006 may be the perfect time to stop letting a bad childhood ruin another year, says Schlessinger, author of seven New York Times bestsellers and host of an internationally syndicated radio talk show. Schlessinger uses radio listeners' call-ins, her own stories and a little help from Carly Simon to help adults stuck in the past break free from destructive patterns and move peaceably forward. "The truth is that there is always a battle between the history and the present," she writes. Schlessinger tailors her advice staples (take charge, get tough, be positive, live for something other than yourself) toward securing victory over childhood traumas by admonishing readers against thinking emotionally about emotional subjects, advocating black and white reasoning (one listener's mother is deemed "evil") and proposing an amoeba-brainless and unthinking-constitutes a workable decision making model. Readers already of the Schlessinger school will find much here to appreciate, though it's doubtful this will win her any new fans.
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