Customer Reviews

Saving Beauty from the Beast: How to Protect Your Daughter from an Unhealthy Relationship

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recently bought several books on abusive relationships.

My husband (a very picky reader) has read many passages out loud to me from this one.

It is filled with many examples of abusive relationships that are unbelievably similar to what we have seen. We almost feel as if the authors know the young man we are concerned about.

The book is clearly written, provides good details and ideas on how to cope.

Buy this book before your daughter gets involved with an abuser, or at least at the first signs of an abusive relationship. You want to know, as early as possible, what can be going on.

The book is worth many times what it costs..

This book is a classic, a must for every personal family library. It's a page turner, for me a chapter turner, for I leaped from one section to another quickly seeking means for protecting my children. I now feel more acutely sensitized to the problem and better able to get a grip on some of the interventions. The authors are to be congratulated and thanked for improving our competence concerning so frightening a scenario.

In a 2003 "Montel Williams" show on dating violence, Vicki Crompton, co-author of Saving Beauty From The Beast, did more than plug her book, co-written with Ellen Zelda Kessner; she told the highly personal story of her daughter Jenny's murder at the hands of boyfriend Mark Smith, and offered advice to young women and parents torn apart by callous teenage boys, adolescent angst, parent-daughter conflicts, and a culture that, as the book points out, romanticizes forbidden love, taking what you want at any cost, love that hurts, and having a boyfriend.

Crompton, hand-in-hand with parenting author Kessner, has turned her daughter's shattering, unthinkable death into a brilliant, readable book that draws on real teenagers and their parents from all backgrounds, speaking in clear, intelligent voices, articulating the myriad pressures young women today face when involved in a love that hurts. Crompton and Kressner do not make light of peer pressure, or fail to note that the very rich and the very poor of today's youth are the most at risk to become abusers, or shrink from advising parents to "back off" and accept the relationship. The personal safety plan for daughters in abusive relationships, the safety plan for daughters who have left the relationship, the ingenious suggestion of a "code word" signaling danger, are useful tools. The coda of Crompton confronting Mark Smith in prison serves as a poignant reminder and incentive for all parents of teenage girls to read and share this book with their "Beautys."

I encourage every parent of a daughter to read this book before their daughter starts dating. It details behaviors and actions to be aware of in the boys their children date -- behaviors that are initially perceived as loving and protective, but are actually controlling and manipulative, and become emotional and eventually physical abuse.

A very important book that should be mandatory reading for all educators, especially in middle schools, high schools, and colleges. Abuse and male privilege are far too common and even accepted by so many. Saving Beauty from the Beast is very readable and compelling. All school counselors should read this book. As a former victim of domestic violence I know what an uphill battle it can be as the victim is often blamed by the police and clergy. This book is a ray of light in a dark tunnel. I am grateful to its authors.

This book was recommended to me by a friend after I told her about my 23 year old daughter's recent with a young man. Although my daughter was not abused physically, her self-esteem and ability to make decisions crumbled under the mental abuse she suffered from her first long-term relationship. In so many little ways she recognized this guy's behaviors she became a victim of, and now regards this book as her permanent reference to help prevent her from making the same mistake with another man.

Helpful information if you have a gut feeling that something is "not quite right" in your daughter's relationship with a boy or man. The basic principles apply whether we're talking teens or adults. A very eye-opening read. It may even save a life!

I was in a very abusive relationship for over 7 years and felt like I could not leave. I saw the show where she was on sharing her story about her daughter and could not stop crying. I felt as if I was trapped but after reading this book and studying on abusive relationships I packed up myself and my two kids even with death threats and moved on although he still bothers me and tries to control me I have been free for 1 1/2 years now. I did not know how deep I was in and am truely convinced that if I did not read this book and look for more answers I might not be here today....

I read this book as the mother of a teen daughter in an emotionaly unhealthy relationship. I could not get her to read it, but I did. It is very sad that the author's daughter lost her life in order for this book to be written.

I wish I could personally thank the authors for this book. Parents who find themselves in this circumstance feel very alone and frightened. Our 17 year-old daughter needed to be rescued from an abusive relationship. This book supported us as she was finally able to break away. Can I give it more than five stars?