Customer Reviews

Homecoming

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

John Bradshaw's "Family", "Healing the Shame that Binds You" and "Homecoming" changed my life. The first showed me where I came from and how I got to be the way I was. It gave me understanding, and the knowledge that I wasn't crazy and hopeless. I was taught to be that way.

The second book helped me to identify the specific ways it all happened, to remember it, and then it gave me hope that I could unlearn it all and be retrained. I could learn ways to change things to make things better.

The third book gave me direction, and tools to correct my behaviors and dysfunctional behaviors, and the ability to change my life. To really heal, without fear.

Now years later, I am happy and doing very well.

I whole-heartedly recommend these three books to anyone that is having any relationship problems or childhood issues, any type of addiction or codependent issues, feelings of inadequacy, insecurity or loss of self esteem.

In these books, there is knowledge that will heal you, there is hope to change, there is courage to gain and there is a better life.

My gratitude to you, Mr. John Bradshaw!

CE

If you are tired of going around in circles with addictions, self conflicts and other things that have developed from your childhood.... this book is for you. John Bradshaw shows us how we have come to be in the place we are in at this stage of life. He shows how to stop the cycles of repeating the same negative things over and over. He shows how we all played a roll in the family and where we might have been in that roll. Why we are alcholics.. care takers... over achivers... or other addictions in life. He helps us to tune into that small self that still remains in us... even as adults. His technic of using the inner child to write with the non-perdominate hand is something unique in it's nature. He takes us from toddler stage thru to the self we are today. This book covers all kinds of things that have happened to many in life... like abandonment issues... children of alcholics and the roll each individual plays... the sexually abused... and many other issues that many of us have today. If you are wanting to stop the cycle and live a more productive and positive way? If you are willing to work at seeing how and why you came to be where you are now? Then this book is for you. It is of a greater benifit to have a counsler. Hoping this books helps all as much as it has helped me! Many wishes of campassion and happiness to all!

Wow! Bradshaw picks up where his book, "Healing the Shame That Binds You" left off. He helps the reader to identify problems that arose out of his/her family setting and/or traumatic settings in early life. He then goes on to explain how one's past may well be having a negative impact on their CURRENT, adult life. Finally he helps the reader to eliminate and neutralize those negative impacts and truly become a whole and complete adult. If you find that your life is still going around in circles after reading Healing the Shame that Binds you, then you NEED this book! It is LOADED with pratical information and application. (If it doesn't become required reading for therapist courses abroad I'll be very suprised. It is fantastic! ) No..you are NOT a screw up according to Bradshaw.

The 1,000 word limit for this review does not allow enough space to say all that I would say about this book, and more particularly, what it did for me, and could do for you.

There really is a Wonder Child in all of us. The more damaged we are, the more opportunity for the magnitude of the emerging of that Wonder Child in reading and embracing this book. For years, in fact all of my adolescent and young adult life, I knew something was not right, I just could not put my finger on it. I wondered why I would "act up" in professional environments and "lose it" just on the edge of success. This book answered all those questions and guided me to restoration of my "self".

John brings home the essence of what we need as toddlers and adolescents. He spells it out simply as Love, Guidance, and Permission along with a few other very fundamental needs of children. He makes it very clear as to the damage caused by emotional and physical abuse, over-protection, under-guidance, abandonment and other acts that parents do not even realise are occurring. The realization of these as issues, and the guidance to work these age-old and often subconsciously buried issues to closure, is the key to ones "self".

With all due respect to other reviewers, this is a book that can not simply be read. It must be practiced and lived. Having gone to several seminars and workshops of John Bradshaws', I slowly saw the Wonder Child emerge. Since reading this book and doing the work for a year (don't get me wrong it does not end there) I have gone from 20 years as a white collar worker in my career, being constrained by dysfunctions, to a top consultant in my field. Only because of this book and the discoveries that it led me to in order to free my "self".

And for those who claim that this type of work is herecy, WRONG... I have also become a better Christian as a result of the outcome.

Read it. Be prepared for emotions when you do, but.... read it.

If you have suffered from a difficult childhood, especially one which included an alcoholic, this book is a must read. Because he lived the life himself, John Bradshaw brings empathy to the task in buckets. The tests require honesty about yourself, but if you find that you fit the "wounded child" profile, this book will absolutely help you get out of the rut of recrimination that has dogged you most of your life. Perhaps the best part about his method is that it is relatively simple and you do it yourself. There are no expensive psychological or psychiatric tests, appointments, etc. I was so impressed that I bought the book for my brother and sister. And now, my sister and I are going to attend a Bradshaw lecture on a slightly different, but related, topic.

I'm giving credit here, but I'm not sure whether or not it's for Mr. B's writings, or his personal appearances. I've been privy to both. At any rate, he, along with Louise Hay, saved my life. Were it not for their books, their wonderful warmth and caring, and their testaments, I simply wouldn't be here. Both authors deal with the inner child and his/her healing. It's a subject that's not covered much, especially in books outside the "self help" catagories, but there are a few (think Conroy's Prince of Tides or McCrae's Bark of the Dogwood). At any rate, Homecoming is wonderful and if you read anything, read this and "You Can Heal your life" by Hay. God bless.

Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child

I cannot think of another published work that deals effectively with healing the wounded inner child, like this book. Methodical and delibrate, Bradshaw explores territory unknown to our present conscious, but quite familiar to our subconscious. The earliest of memories, whether peripheral, non-descript "gut" feelings or vivid, clear, sensory-engaged recollections, can be stirred up with the meditations and mental exercises outlined by Bradshaw.

Those that are considering purchasing this book, and are reading the reviews to help your decision process, probably already discussed this with a trained spiritual counselor to truly do the work necessary, to undo years of damage in early childhood that somehow manifested itself into inappropriate social behaviors (misplaced anger or rage, attention-seeking, sexualized friendships, marital infidelity, covert sex, pornography), defense mechanisms (disassociation, projection, passing blame or guilt) and addictions (chemical, sexual dependencies). Emotional wounds sustained at such an innocent age really cannot be healed properly until an emotionally healthy parent, particularly a fully-functioning, fit mother, can teach proper coping skills that later fully develop and become integrated into adulthood. Some of us have not been as fortunate to have a parent, much less two, that offered appropriate emotional guidance. Those that need innerchild work done, are those that were raised by damaged parents and damage is passed onto their children as abuse, whether sexual, emotional, physical, and/or spiritual. Proper intervention is required to recalibrate the wiring in emotionally unstable adults and get them up to their appropriate EQ.

In doing the innerchild work, I caution those that try to accomplish this in solitude. The person in meditation may not know how to cope with the unearthed emotions (typically strong feelings of shame, guilt, and fear of unknown origin) unless a properly trained spiritual counselor provides enough guidance and tools to cope with the unpleasant, repressed feelings. It is also important to conduct the tasks in the order Bradshaw has outlined - Start at the infancy stage, do the meditation, and work on the emotions that surface, if at all. The best indication of how much damage was done to an individual is if the first task meditating at the infancy stage evokes a surge of unknown feelings. Then the work needed to get healthy requires the entire process suggested by Bradshaw. Skipping a chapter/exercise is not an option if the goal is to get emotionally fully integrated and healthy.

In closing, this book is really a new beginning to properly train and socialize a wounded adult back into society, the workplace, family life. Essentially, the process is likened to that of an infant learning to crawl, stand, walk, and explore the world around them, with the loving and caring guidance that lacked in childhood. Bradshaw also includes a section on forgiving and releasing resentment and bitterness of the perpetrator(s) of the emotional damage. I've witnessed miracles of healing because of the innerchild methodology, in lock-step with spiritual rebirth. Many times, the latter is overlooked when in fact the two complement each other in the healing and deliverance of an addicted, depressed adult. The spiritual aspect is alluded to, but not expounded upon, by Bradshaw. However, this omission does not affect the overall success of the process. I still give the book Five Stars and would recommend this to anyone in need of deep healing.

John Bradshaw does a beautiful job showing how we all carry a historical "inner child," the child we really were. When that child did not get the love and nurturance that it needed, it will either act out or act in later in our adult years. Bradshaw brilliantly shows the many ways in which the inner child got hurt and how it continues to contaminate our adult lives, unless and until we take steps to heal it. This book does not dwell on self-pity or blame; rather it focuses on understanding what happened, why it happened, and then dedicates the majority of the pages to a constructive approach to healing the inner child so that we can live a full, happy life.

To accept our vulnerability is to be courageous. Bradshaw himself had a lot of emotional pain and he has figured out that by being honest about our feelings, it is possible to resolve past emotional pain! This concept is not new - in some cultures such as that in the Indian tradition, to grieve over losses is considered very important. A prime example is the mourning that occurs after the death of a dear one. The family cries along with friends and relatives, sometimes for days on end. After the 10th day, everybody is normal and back to business ready to face the new reality! After reading Bradshaw's book, practicing his techniques, and experiencing a sense of empowerment and emotional growth, I can fully appreciate this tradition of expressing grief, brought to us from our forefathers.

Just like the body is capable of healing a physical wound by itself - all we need to do is protect the wound from being hurt again, take some precautions, etc, - thankfully, the mind is capable of healing emotional wounds by itself - otherwise there would probably be no sane people in this world. In today's fast-paced life, we need to be deliberate in providing our mind with environments conducive to healing. Bradshaw gives us techniques which will help us and our loved ones for the rest of our lives. Thanks to Bradshaw and others like him, I now thoroughly know the value of healing our emotional knots, and by implication the emotional distress we can cause our children and relatives by our improper behaviour.

John Bradshaw is a gift to humanity.

This is the first time that I have felt strong enough about a self help book to actually write a review. This book is one of the single most defintative reasons that I finally feel like I have the anwsers to the questions that have haunted me for 36 years.
The author does a wonderful job of guiding the reader through a step by step process to uncover the underyling reasons that we act in ways that are detrimental to our emotional health. He opened my eyes to things that I wasnt even aware of. I think this was one of the best things about the book. you cant even begin the healing process intil you know what questions to ask.