Exorcising Your Ex: How to Get Rid of the Demons of Relationships Past (Paperback)

~ (Author) "IN THE PERIOD immediately following a breakup, every emotion in the book will rear its ugly head..." (more)
Key Phrases: rebound date, New York, Some Stuff, Good Pile (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Are you hurting from a recent breakup? Still pining for a guy you dated ten years ago? Here are surefire ways to demolish those demons of loves past -- and still maintain your dignity and sense of humor.

This hilarious and eminently helpful collection of real-life tricks and techniques is like no other book of its kind. With cutting-edge wit. Elizabeth Kuster presents tried-and-true solutions from dozens of women who have survived the trauma of breaking up -- clever (or desperate) methods for getting over guys who, for some silly reason, think they can live without you. In this book, you'll find

An exclusive equation to help you recalculate your post-breakup recovery time.
How not to make your current boyfriend pay for what your ex did to you.
What to do with the ratty bathrobe your ex left hanging in your closet.
On-target lists of movies, books, and songs appropriate for each phase.
Quick fixes, harmless revenge tactics, and much, much more!

These sassy tales from the trenches will help you get over nagging negative memories quickly, effectively, painlessly. And failing that, they'll give you a few cheap laughs.

About the Author

Elizabeth Kuster is a freelance writer who lives in New York City. She was formerly the editor of Glamour's "Couple Time" column

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Fireside (April 23, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068480302X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684803029
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #223,294 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Clever If You Can Handle It, March 28, 1999

By A Customer

I bought this book when my wound from being dumped was still very fresh and bleeding. If you've had quite a few boyfriends and this break-up hasn't put you in shock, then you will find this clever book humorous and helpful. If you've been painfully dumped or lost the man of your dreams, I'd read another book for right now. I'm so glad women write inspiring books for other women. I wish all women who are in relationship problems and break-ups plenty of sunshine.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Getting over Mr. Wrong, November 14, 2004

By	Michele L. Worley (Kingdom of the Mouse, United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

"By now you're wondering what makes me such an expert. Well, let's just say that if this book were called HOW TO MAKE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS LAST, it would have to be plagiarized; the average magazine subscription lasts twice as long as most of my relationships. Getting over guys - *that's* where I'm experienced. I've dated them all...Many of my ex-boyfriends, in fact, could star in my private version of SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, with the dwarfs being Dopey, Jerky, Crappy, Sleazy, Sneaky, Woeful, and Cheap."
- from the introduction

If you're looking for a book to help you with a detailed procedure for heavyweight matters, such as negotiating child custody, dealing with ex-in-laws and mutual friends, selling a jointly-owned house when you're not speaking, or dealing with general financial tangles - this book isn't for that. (See above; the author hasn't had those kinds of relationships. She did collect lots of juicy stories from others to add to her own, though.)

*This* author addresses a lot of little things instead, such as:
- Movies, music, and books to seek out to feel better (and others to avoid like the plague)
- Tricks to keep from making a fool of yourself in front of the ex
- Self-help books (Not unless you want to waste a lot of time being convinced that you're codependent/depressive/psychotic/etc.)
- Dealing with stuff (expensive gifts, loaned items, etc.) (As the author points out, it took her a lot longer to get over the loss of her air conditioner than it did to get over the Ex who refused to give it back.)
- Dealing with stuff that reminds you of the Ex (letters, photographs, souvenirs)
- "Why can't we be friends?" (Lots of reasons, since you ask. One game you can play after reading this section: classifying Exs who tried this tactic as Egotist/Emotional Cripple/Martyr/Saint/Wimp, or combinations of same)
- rebound dates (who'll make you appreciate staying home with grandma)
- when they come crawling back into your life, just when you're finally over them

I think it's a lot easier for many people to get angry about all the little things than about the stuff that *really* hurt (I think the pop psych term for that is "displacement activity"), so a lot of time and energy can get wasted on nonsense. How many people's buttons can be pushed *instantly* to tell the tale of how the Ex walked off with their favourite DVDs (fill in the blank here) whenever they see a copy of some particular movie? (And I'm thinking of one of my *male* acquaintances here. While the book is written for a female audience coping with lousy ex-boyfriends, some ex qualities appear to transcend gender.)

If you've just gone through a breakup, you could probably use a good laugh. This is good for that. For one thing, you (I hope) can feel relieved that at least *your* ex didn't pull some of the stuff the real bozos mentioned in this book did:
- cleaning out your checking account (you'd miss your credit rating more than you'd miss him)
- standing you up on Valentine's Day without even a card
- two words: cubic zirconia

She's even got some real exorcism rituals to take your mind off things, and some fair-to-middling advice on pulling yourself together - but if that's not your thing, you can always go for her Yoo-Hoo diet plan instead.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't go through a breakup WITHOUT THIS BOOK!, March 1, 2001

By	Linda E. MacIntyre (Middlesex, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

I have just had one of the strangest most "un-closed" relationship breakups in my life. There was no closure and it was all a "Maybe in the future" thing. We all know that you can't sit and wait - that's just not healthy.

So i had to sit and think instead. This book kinda jumped out at me at my local waldenbooks (I never book browse, I kinda just read stuff by the same author, so this is different for me).

I read the book in a matter of 3 days and I feel like it was written with my situation (as abnormal as it is) in mind. The parts of the book describing the several emotions and outlooks and the breakdown of the stages of a breakup hit it all on the nose. Elizabeth Kuster has an AMAZING flair for writing and the fact that she takes a humorous approach to a very upsetting life inevitability shows her brave and revolutionary outlook on a woman's heart.

And the part about searching through the horoscopes and tarot and all that to figure out the future during a certain stage in a breakup? She could never be more correct than that.

Needless to say, this book has pretty much helped me in the fight to get over my ex (it's been a month and i'm doing better!)

Four thousand cheers to Ms. Kuster - an extraordinary writer!