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    Okay, I need some book suggestions. My friend is in a relationship with someone who may not be right for her, but she refuses to leave him. Are there any books that can help her see that her boyfriend isn't right for her, or help her build better self-esteem to eventually leave him?

    by Illustrious_Shake878

    6 Comments

    1. MermaidBookworm on

      I don’t know whether this is quite what you’re looking for, but I just read Fates and Traitors by Jennifer Chiaverini. It is a fictional take on the life of John Wilkes Booth – the man who killed Abraham Lincoln.

      The thing that I found most striking was how easily these women fell for and promised their futures to men who were obviously not good for them.

      JWB’s mother, for instance, agreed to start a life with a man she knew was married.

      JWB’s main love interest, Lucy ignored a lot of red flags, and basically believed all the bad things said about him were rumors, and refused to trust her loved ones’ judgment about him. Even when she was warned about rumors that he was a ladies’ man, or that he held the South’s views in high regard, she refused to believe it up until the moment she heard that he killed the president that she so admired.

      Again, it may not fit your criteria, exactly; the main idea about the book is not the romance, but just an overview of JWB’s life. But it might work as a shock factor, to show that even people you believe to be good, people you think you know, can be awful people, or lead to a toxic relationship. People can be so blinded by a handsome face, and the idea of “love” that they ignore all the warning signs.

    2. alpha_rat_fight_ on

      Unfortunately, you can’t force anyone to see the light in a situation like this. She has to realize it on her own.

    3. Virtual_Lock_907 on

      All about love/ communion by bell hooks, tiny beautiful things by Cheryl Strayed, Queenie by Candice Williams, How to fall out of love madly by Jana Casale, Adelaide by Genevieve wheeler, Green Dot by Madeline Gray

    4. Behind My Front Door and Behind My Front Door the sequel are true stories about domestic violence and its consequences, maybe she will see the red flags in her relationship?
      Behind My Front Door and Behind My Front Door the sequel are true stories about domestic violence and its consequences, maybe she will see the red flags in her relationship?
      People also told me that I had to leave him, that he was not a good man, I was already in his iron grip and no longer believed anyone with all the consequences that entailed

    5. brusselsproutsfiend on

      She has to make that decision on her own but a useful book for self esteem could be The Self Esteem Workbook by Glenn R. Schiraldi or The Mindful Self Compassion Workbook by Kristin Neff

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