Should I Stay or Should I Go?: A Guide to Knowing if Your Relationship Can--and Should--be Saved
Should I Stay or Should I Go?: A Guide to Knowing if Your Relationship Can--and Should--be Saved book cover

Should I Stay or Should I Go?: A Guide to Knowing if Your Relationship Can--and Should--be Saved

Paperback – November 1, 2011

Price
$15.99
Format
Paperback
Pages
432
Publisher
Berkley
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0425238899
Dimensions
6 x 0.9 x 8.99 inches
Weight
0.035 ounces

Description

Praise for Why Does He Do That? “Bancroft has opened a window into the thinking of abusive men, and his book helps open a door out of abusive relationships.”—Gavin de Becker, New York Times bestselling author of The Gift of Fear and Fear Less “This is without a doubt the most informative and useful book yet written on the subject of abusive men.”—Jay G. Silverman, PhD, director, Violence Prevention Programs, Harvard School of Public Health“Jargon-free analysis is frequently broken up by interesting first-person accounts and boxes that distill in-depth information into simple checklists. Bancroft’s book promises to be a beacon of calm for many storm-tossed families.”— Publishers Weekly “Bancroft boldly asks—and brilliantly answers—the most important questions of all: Why do so many men abuse women? What can be done about it? This book is desperately needed and long overdue.”—Jackson Katz, creator of the award-winning video Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity “This is essential reading for those in the helping professions and highly recommended.”— Library Journal “At last—the straight scoop on men who abuse women. This is a book not just for abused women and domestic violence professionals, but for everyone who wonders why there’s so much violence in America. Read it.”—Ann Jones, author of When Love Goes Wrong and Next Time, She’ll Be Dead “Bancroft helps women who feel trapped in unhealthy relationships make sense out of what is happening.”—Sarah Buel, JD, codirector, Domestic Violence Clinic, and lecturer, University of Texas Law School“A compelling read about a tough topic. What you read here will come back to you long after you put the book down.”—Angela Browne, author of When Battered Women Kill “An informative and necessary read.”—Susan Weitzman, PhD, author of Not to People Like Us: Hidden Abuse in Upscale Marriages Lundy Bancroft has over twenty-five years of experience in the fields of abuse, trauma, and recovery. He has published five books, including the bestseller Why Does He Do That? , Daily Wisdom for Why Does He Do That? , When Dad Hurts Mom , The Batterer as Parent , and Should I Stay of Should I Go? .xa0Lundy has worked with over 1000 abusive men in his counseling groups. He has also served extensively as a custody evaluator, child abuse investigator, and expert witness, and has presented to 350 audiences across the U.S. and abroad. JAC Patrissi is the founder and former director of the Vermont Victim Assistance Academy. She facilitates the Growing a New Heart Retreat series for women healing from destructive relationships.

Features & Highlights

  • From the bestselling author of
  • Why Does He Do That?
  • comes a relationship book that will help you make the decision of whether or not your troubled relationship is worth saving.
  • Every relationship has problems, but you can’t figure out if yours is beyond hope. How bad is too bad—and can your partner really change? Now, in this warm, supportive, and straightforward guide, Lundy Bancroft and women’s advocate JAC Patrissi offer a way for you to practically and realistically take stock of your relationship and move forward.   If you’re involved in a chronically frustrating or unfulfilling relationship, the advice and exercises in this book will help you learn to:   • Tell the difference between a healthy—yet difficult—relationship and one that is really not working• Recognize the signs that your partner has serious problems • Stop waiting to see what will happen—and make your own growth the top priority• Design a clear plan of action for you and your partner• Navigate the waters of a relationship that’s improving• Prepare for life without your partner, even as you keep trying to make life work with them

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(463)
★★★★
25%
(193)
★★★
15%
(116)
★★
7%
(54)
-7%
(-55)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

A very helpful book.

If you are in the unfortunate situation of dealing with an affair by your spouse I would highly recommend this book. It has a lot of very practical and effective suggestions for surviving a most terrible time in a relationship and making reasoned decisions on how to move past it either together or apart. If you are in this situation do yourself a favor and buy this book.
3 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Sympathetic with advice on how to get back on your feet

For a person going through a bad relationship, I believe they're probably going through lots of turmoil to handle a complicated book, so this one is written with a lot of empathy, with an easy reading format that won't confuse a person more. Like other reviewers said, it's a great book to gauge whether to leave or stay in a relationship with some difficult issues a woman might be facing with her man. In this regard of seeing if a man has an abusive or issues that are hard to fix I prefer the book Why Does He Do That? more. For that reason I quickly skimmed through the half pages and looked at the other half of the book which I deemed to be more important: how to survive the trauma of being in a bad relationship and standing up on your feet, which I believe is also helpful even if a woman decides to stay in the relationship.
2 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Should I stay or Should I Go

This book is great for Clinicians and Educators! I recommend that every domestic violence agency have one available for employees.
2 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

A gentle guide and sanity-saver.

In short, this book was amazing. There are several thinking and writing exercises tucked into some very helpful, encouraging, guiding information. I did not finish the writing exercises at the end of the book on finding a new partner, only because I've chosen to just deal with what's happening/happened in my recent past and present.

It took me a month of reading/working through the book but it was totally worth it. This book has helped me find my own calm in the storm; it helped me find the strengh I needed to move forward and the courage to stay strong. If you do not know where you stand in your current situation or what to do, this book will help you if you take the time for it.
2 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Helped me Feel Not Alone

I had already decided to leave my marriage, but I had some nagging doubts until I read this book. Not only did this book help me see that my marriage truly was emotionally abusive, it helped me begin my recovery afterward.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

A useful tool for anyone struggling in a relationship...

Excellent research and insight. Lundy Bancroft's work has helped victims of domestic violence to empower themselves, and this book is a great tool for those in difficult or abusive relationships. I highly recommend this book.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Eh not for me

Couldn't get past the first couple of chapters. But maybe it just wasn't relatable to my relationship.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Not as helpful as I had hoped

This book was just okay for my purposes. It did not meet my needs. I ended up skipping a number of chapters.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Should I stay.....

Vivid, excellent examples. Although I do not have this dilemma personally, the book is of great value to someone who is contemplating leaving a dying relationship in helping them clarify their decision and living with it, without second guessing
themselves.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Very helpful.

I work with Domestic Violence victims. Lundy Bancrofts work is very helpful as he works with abusers. The different perspective is very helpful.
1 people found this helpful