The New Codependency: Help and Guidance for Today's Generation

Melody Beattie

Dec 2008 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

The New Codependency is an owner’s manual to learning to be who you are and gives you the tools necessary to reclaim your life by renouncing unhealthy practices.

In Codependent No More, Melody Beattie introduced the world to the term codependency. Now a modern classic, this book established Beattie as a pioneer in self-help literature and endeared her to millions of readers who longed for healthier relationships. Twenty-five years later concepts such as self-care and setting boundaries have become entrenched in mainstream culture. Now Beattie has written a followup volume, The New Codependency, which clears up misconceptions about codependency, identifies how codependent behavior has changed, and provides a new generation with a road map to wellness.

The question remains: What is and what is not codependency? Beattie here reminds us that much of codependency is normal behavior. It’s about crossing lines. There are times we do too much, care too much, feel too little, or overly engage. Feeling resentment after giving is not the same as heartfelt generosity. Narcissism and self-love, enabling and nurturing, and controlling and setting boundaries are not interchangeable terms. In The New Codependency, Beattie explores these differences, effectively invoking her own inspiring story and those of others, to empower us to step out of the victim role forever. Codependency, she shows, is not an illness but rather a series of behaviors that once broken down and analyzed can be successfully combated.

Each section offers an overview of and a series of activities pertaining to a particular behavior—caretaking, controlling, manipulation, denial, repression, etc.—enabling us to personalize our own step-by-step guide to wellness. These sections, in conjunction with a series of tests allowing us to assess the level of our codependent behavior, demonstrate that while it may not seem possible now, we have the power to take care of ourselves, no matter what we are experiencing.

Ratings and reviews

My therapist recommended this book to me and it really is awesome. I'm in my mid twenties, a fairly strict nonalcoholic, and not at all religious but even the parts in the book dealing with topics that didnt necessarily fit me had some really good lessons to think about.

Freaking amazing book. I'll probably read this multiple times. Great work!

Insightful helps you to understand yourself and others

About the author

Melody Beattie ha escrito numerosos libros sobre el crecimiento y las relaciones personales, y su mensaje se basa en la sabiduría curativa de los Doce Pasos, el cristianismo y las religiones orientales. Con la publicación en 1986 de Ya No Seas Codependiente, Melody se convirtió en una de las principales voces de la literatura de autoayuda cautivando a millones de lectores empeñados en tener relaciones más sanas. Ella vive en Malibu, California.