Breaking Free of the Shame Trap: How Women Get Into It, How Women Get Out of It [Paperback]

Christine B. Evans (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1996

BREAKING FREE OF THE SHAME TRAP is a book women have been waiting for, one that empowers us to move beyond the shame we have carried for generations. Instilled at a young age, shame is a painful but familiar companion to every woman who has ever felt criticized or rejected. Written by a marriage and family therapist, this insightful book provides the tools every woman needs to regain her self-respect. With powerful case histories, insight, and compassion, the book explores:

* The crucial differences between male shame and female shame in our

society

* The relentless critic inside many women--and ways women can free

themselves from it:

* The sometimes-invisible traps society has devised to keep women

without power and full of shame, and more. The author reveals why so many women undermine themselves and experience such problems as low self-esteem, depression, addiction, and eating disorders. She explores the myths that society uses to shame women, arguing that many modern psychological labels (such as codependency) actually further shame in women by devaluing our fundamental selves. Additionally, Evans shows how our cultural obsession with beauty, youth and thinness further make women feel as if they are "never enough." BREAKING FREE OF THE SHAME TRAP offers a comprehensive checklist of symptoms, plus specific strategies to help women free themselves from this destructive emotion.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An important and strong book and a necessary support for validating women's feelings at a time when it is most needed." -- JOHN GRAY Author of MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS

"Christine Evans truly knows women's shame and creates a clear and promising pathway toward healing." -- MARILYN J. MASON Author of MAKING OUR LIVES OUR OWN

"Compassionate and empowering...A much needed addition to the shame literature...An important book about the shaming of girls and women in our culture without disregarding the pain of boys and men." -- JANE MIDDELTON-MOZ Author of SHAME AND GUILT

"Exposes the man-made myths that lead to women's shame and points to a natural way to re-embody femininity." -- EMILY HANCOCK Author of THE GIRL WITHIN

"Splendid...I owe BREAKING FREE OF THE SHAME TRAP for what it has taught me about the ways in which women experience the shame that haunts the spirits of so many of us. I am sure that many men will be helped by her book as I was." -- LEWIS B. SMEDES Author of SHAME AND GRACE

From the Publisher

John Bradshaw first put the issue of shame on the map by demonstrating that it is a powerful and crippling emotion. According to Christine Brautigam Evans, a leading therapist, women are especially vulnerable to shame. Evans says, "Women are born into a 'dysfunctional' culture which places a higher value on being male. In the face of such devaluation, we come to believe there is something wrong with us. As such, women struggle with a kind of shame men never face."

The first book to specifically address the roots and consequences of women's shame, BREAKING FREE OF THE SHAME TRAP is an important addition to the growing literature of women's psychology. It is a powerful work which teaches women how to appreciate the unique and wonderful gifts that are women's birthright, and helps guide them out of the pain of shame.

In a sweeping look at the causes of cultural and familial shame, the book, based on Evans' twenty-five years of clinical practice offers comfort and courage to women who face feelings of unworthiness, self-loathing, and lack of confidence.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Morris Publishing; 2 edition (January 1996)
• ISBN-10: 1575023903
• ISBN-13: 978-1575023908
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,296,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very liberating book., September 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Breaking Free of the Shame Trap: How Women Get Into It, How Women Get Out of It (Paperback)

This book takes shame out of the closet so we can hold it up and take a good look at it. It shows us how unrecognized shame has been making us feel bad and sabotaging our relationships. Most helpful for me were the messages that there is nothing innately wrong with us, and that recognizing and dealing with our shame can restore self-esteem and well-being. Only a few pages into this practical and compassionate book, I knew I was reading something that could help millions of women.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Is Relevant to Men as Well, January 6, 2000

By 

Robert T Hedrick "Bob" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Breaking Free of the Shame Trap: How Women Get Into It, How Women Get Out of It (Paperback)

As a man, I found this book to be very relevant to shame issues personally and "societally." It also helped me to better understand my wife's issues with shame, particularly those that society seemingly arbitrarily assigns to women in general. Evans covers this topic comprehensively with a lot of food for thought. I have read some of Bradshaw's work on this and found this book almost entirely compatible with his thinking but even deeper in coverage.