I had the pleasure to read The Dysfunctional Dance of The Empath and the Narcissist by Dr. Rita Louise. It is not a book for everyone and yet it should be. The reason I say it is not for everyone is because it is very psychologically based and those concepts can be hard to read. With that in mind the content of the book is so valuable in understanding these two types of personalities and how they can feed off of each other.
The book has a focus on breaking the cycle of unhealthy relationships. It takes you through the personalities, potential triggers, tactics that the abuser may use and most importantly skills to use in order to break free. It is easy to see how Dr. Rita Louise is so passionate about helping others with this struggle and she begins the book with a little bit about her own struggle. I would have loved to read more about her story.
What really stood out to me was the fact that no where in the book does it say that using these strategies would b
e easy. It does not claim to be an easy task to simply leave a loved one. She writes honestly about how difficult ending an unhealthy relationship can be which is very important to remember. It isn’t an easy thing to simply change your entire life, but it could be the thing that saves your life.
Overall, this was an excellent read. Dr. Rita Louise tries to write in a way that can speak to the general public, not just scholars. She very clearly explains terms that not everyone may be familiar with (e.g. gaslighting or love bombing).
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