Beckoning readers toward a spiritual territory beyond even that of her revolutionary best-seller Codependent No More, Melody Beattie conducts us through teeming Casablanca, war-torn Algeria, and the caverns of Egypt's great pyramids as she embarks on a new kind of journey of the soul. An enlightening blend of travel, adventure, and spiritual discovery, filled with new ideas for overcoming the pitfalls of guilt and self-doubt, Stop Being Mean to Yourself is a compassionate tour guide for the troubled and the heartsick, for those who seek a happier place in the world. A tale that is at once modern and timeless, rich with the promise of personal discovery, it is a book about learning the art of living and of loving others--and ourselves. As full of suspense and excitement as it is of hope and encouragement, it is as rewarding for its pure reading pleasure as for the wisdom it imparts. About the Author: Melody Beattie is the author of numerous best-selling books, including Codependent No More, Beyond Codependency, The Language of Letting Go, A Codependent's Guide to the Twelve Steps, and Journey to the Heart. Beattie's writing draws on the wisdom of Twelve Step healing, Christianity, and Eastern religions. Beattie was a struggling single parent of two children, freelance author, and journalist cranking out stories for a small-town daily newspaper in 1986 when she came up with a book idea. She wanted to write a book about what happens to people when they love someone who is addicted to alcohol and other drugs. "There were many books out there about how to help an addict or alcoholic. Nobody was talking about how an addict impacts the lives of the people around him or her, and how crazy you can become when you love someone who is addicted," Beattie said. "Even though I was sober, I didn't know how crazy I could get until it happened to me." Twenty publishers turned down Beattie's book proposal. "It's a good idea, but we don't think there's that many codependents out there," they wrote back. Hazelden, however, a treatment center and recovery publisher based in Minnesota, saw a need for the book. The publisher understood how families of alcoholics suffer and believed Beattie's book idea would help people. Beattie marched to the welfare department, asked for enough financial help to make it through the three months it would take her to write the book, then locked herself in a basement office and cranked out Codependent No More. She has long since paid back the welfare department and went on to write many more books. Codependent No More has sold more than 3.5 million copies. Beattie has appeared in the pages of Newsweek and People and has been a regular guest on Geraldo and Oprah. |
