The Courage to Be Yourself : A Woman's Guide to Growing Beyond Emotional Dependence [Paperback]

Sue Patton Thoele (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1991

Geared to women who find themselves meeting the needs and wants of others without meeting their own, The Courage to be Yourself helps them break free from emotional dependency, enhance their self-esteem, and overcome self-limiting fears. This edition has been thoroughly revised and updated and includes a revised discussion of codependency and addiction.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As a minister, I counsel as many women as I do men. More than any other author, Sue Patton Thoele has helped me understand what it is like to be a woman in today's culture. She writes like an angel yet somehow transcends words and communicates directly to the reader's heart. The Courage to Be Yourself is a classic, a masterpiece, yet it is so honest that each time you read it, it speaks with a fresh, new voice." -- Hugh Prather, author of The Little Book of Letting Go and Spiritual Notes to Myself.

"There is nothing more difficult than living an inauthentic life in which our deepest beliefs and dreams lay dormant. In this wonderfully inspiring and wise book, Sue Patton Thoele will guide you to discover and celebrate your deepest hopes, desires, and gloriously authentic self." -- Susan Skog, author of Radical Acts of Love. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

"As a minister, I counsel as many women as I do men. More than any other author, Sue Patton Thoele has helped me understand what it is like to be a woman in today's culture. She writes like an angel yet somehow transcends words and communicates directly to the reader's heart. The Courage to Be Yourself is a classic, a masterpiece, yet it is so honest that each time you read it, it speaks with a fresh, new voice." -- Hugh Prather, author of The Little Book of Letting Go and Spiritual Notes to Myself.

"There is nothing more difficult than living an inauthentic life in which our deepest beliefs and dreams lay dormant. In this wonderfully inspiring and wise book, Sue Patton Thoele will guide you to discover and celebrate your deepest hopes, desires, and gloriously authentic self." -- Susan Skog, author of Radical Acts of Love. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Conari Pr; Revised ed. edition (September 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0943233259
• ISBN-13: 978-0943233253
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,534,305 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Writing made me sit down and shut up and, as a result, helped me become aware of the desire to move from an over-busy lifestyle to a more balanced one. I actually didn't begin writing until all four kids were either in college or on their own. In fact, I was forty-five when the Muse grabbed me by the back of the neck and wouldn't let go no matter how much I resisted. And resist I did! However, my first book, The Courage To Be Yourself, seemed to have a mind of its own and simply would not let me rest until I was totally committed to it. By the time the original book was completed, I was passionate about writing. Since I'd had a private psychotherapy practice for many years, it felt natural to write about issues similar to those with which my clients and I grappled.

I am incredibly blessed to be able to do work I love and to have the support of My Husband Gene, without whom I would never have become an author. We--well, really he--self-published "The Courage To Be Yourself", stacked the first 5,000 copies in our itty bitty garage, and hand delivered two and three copies at a time to local bookstores before the book was eventually picked up by a "real" publisher. To this day, Gene continues to do all the heavy lifting, paper and financial work, schlepping of author to speaking engagements, and has enduring patience with the weirdness-of-wife-while-writing phases I inevitably go through while working. He is my rock.... and he makes me laugh.

Each of us plays many roles and works in different arenas during a lifetime. Below are a few roles I've played and some of the work I've done. Several I still do and others seem as if they existed in another time and space.

ROLES I'VE HAD
Wife, divorcee, wife again ... still "wife again"
Mom, single mom, stepmom ... once a mom of any kind, always a mom
Grandmother, mentor ... love these roles
Myriad acting roles in community theater ... now do some Reader's Theater

WORK I'VE DONE
Author
Psychotherapist in private practice
Public/Keynote Speaker
Seminar/Group/Retreat Leader
Hospice Chaplain, Trainer &
Counselor
Director of a Counseling Center
High School and Adult Ed teacher

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for any woman who wants to enrich their life., June 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Courage to Be Yourself : A Woman's Guide to Growing Beyond Emotional Dependence (Paperback)

I have read this book for the first time over five years ago. It is a book that one will refer to again and again. I happened to stumble across the book while I was shopping with a friend who was in need of some self-confidence and esteem. I thought I did pretty well at being myself but after reading the book discovered that I wasn't! The book was filled with so many lessons. After finishing the book I felt like my life was filled with so many unexpected & exciting blessings. You must be responsible to make yourself happy. Others can't do it for you. You are not responsible to make others happy. Give it a try! I wrote to Sue Patton Thoele and thanked her for permanently changing my life after I read this book!

58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, February 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Courage to Be Yourself : A Woman's Guide to Growing Beyond Emotional Dependence (Paperback)

This book was extremely helpful to me in a difficult time in my life. I highly recommend it to anyone who is living under the terrible dark cloud of low self esteem, whether brought on by divorce or other major events, or by harms suffered in childhood from unfeeling parents or others. The author really appears to understand, and offers a kind and loving help for getting out from under that cloud and into the sunshine. It is filled with kindness and compassion, and will help you on your way to finding happiness again.

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading, November 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Courage to Be Yourself: A Woman's Guide to Growing Beyond Emotional Dependence (Paperback)

This book is worth reading, but it contains no real helpful information except to "go get help". The author is a trained professional, and you do feel like you are sitting on a sofa but she is doing all the talking and not saying much. Perhaps my reaction to this book is because I had already read other books that went indepth on these subjects and she merely touches them. Sorry Sue.