The Mother Factor: How Your Mother's Emotional Legacy Impacts Your Life

Family psychologist Poulter (The Father Factor) claims that anyone can be free from their mother's influence-if you first take the time to understand what it is. No matter how terrible your mother was, he asserts, she is no longer running the show. His clear, sensible advice about an emotionally loaded topic will at the very least give readers a place to start making peace with themselves. Poulter describes five different mothering styles-Perfectionist, Unpredictable, Me First, Best Friend, and Complete-and then details the emotional fallout from each. Using examples from his own practice and life, Poulter provides instructions and exercises on how best to move forward without shame, emotional deprivation, co-dependence, fear of intimacy, abandonment or anger. Readers who haven't considered the ways in which this relationship has affected their lives, or those stuck in a cycle of blame or victimization, will be well-served by this book. Though he does not address the mothers that cross the ""type"" lines he has defined, readers are sure to find his overall message affirming and empowering.