Grace wants out. Out of her house, where her stepfather wields fear like a weapon and her mother makes her scrub imaginary dirt off the floors. Out of her California town, too small to contain her big city dreams. Out of her life, and into the role of Parisian artist, New York director—anything but scared and alone. Enter Gavin: charming, talented, adored. Controlling. Dangerous. When Grace and Gavin fall in love, Grace is sure it's too good to be true. She has no idea their relationship will become a prison she's unable to escape. Deeply affecting and unflinchingly honest, this is a story about spiraling into darkness—and emerging into the light again.

From the psychologist and author of Gaslighting comes a practical recovery plan outlining ten foundational steps to true healing. Surviving and escaping a toxic or abusive relationship can often only be part of the struggle. Long after, survivors often struggle to heal; your self‑esteem may be damaged, you may feel rage and betrayal, and you may punish and/or blame yourself. The author of Gaslighting and specialist in toxic behavior, narcissistic abuse, and personality disorders, Dr. Stephanie Sarkis has seen it all--and she is here to help you understand how to move forward. In Healing from Toxic Relationships, Dr. Sarkis extends compassion and knowledge to survivors, helping you understand the underpinnings of toxic behavior and how to find peace. Highlighting ten essential steps, Dr. Sarkis provides survivors with an accessible framework that can be applied to anyone preparing to heal: 1. Block or Limit Contact 2. Create Your Own Closure 3. Forgive Yourself 4. Establish Boundaries 5. Talk to a Professional 6. Practice Self‑Care 7. Reconnect 8. Grieve 9. Look Outward 10. Prevent: Keeping Toxic People Away Anyone who is in a toxic relationship—whether it's with a romantic partner, colleague, family member, or friend—deserves a way out and a path forward. Dr. Sarkis offers help and hope.

When you find yourself alone after a relationship breakdown and the future you once had planned has evaporated, where and how do you start to create a new future? This book can be used by the reader individually or with a life coach alongside, to support the individual in creating the first steps towards a new future and a ‘road map’ on how to get there. Dee Wilkinson uses a coaching approach throughout the workbook, taking the reader through a logical 10-step process to design a brighter future that will be in line with their authentic self. There are exercises, tools and techniques for the reader to work through to help them understand themselves fully, therefore creating better long-term decision making. A life coach can also use the resource to support the reader’s journey through the steps by asking coaching questions and offering insights and challenges as necessary to keep the reader on track. Many texts are aimed at helping people understand the psychology of why they were in a relationship, whereas this workbook enables people to take tangible steps to move on with their lives. It will be of great help to individuals seeking to move on from toxic relationships, as well as life coaches and other mental health professionals.

Part memoir, part self-help book, So Much For Love offers hilarious and empathetic advice on how to survive a relationship with a master manipulator. Sophie had always been cynical about love—until she meets Marcus. His affection and doting praise melt away her defenses. The beginning of their relationship was a whirlwind romance, but over time she finds herself on uneven footing. Marcus lies. He's violently angry and bewilderingly inconsistent. Yet somehow he always manages to explain away his behavior and to convince Sophie that it's all in her head. The whiplash of this toxic relationship has Sophie’s head spinning. When she hits rock bottom, she fights her way out with fierce honesty, irreverent humor, and the help of Chocolat, a wisecracking, booze-drinking bear.

“A searing, chilling sliver of perfection . . . May well turn out to be the year’s best thriller.” —Charles Finch, The New York Times Book Review “This is simply one of the nastiest and most disturbing thrillers I’ve read in years. I loved it, right down to the utterly chilling final line.” —Gillian Flynn A spellbinding, darkly twisted novel about desire and obsession, and the complicated lines between truth and perception, Our Kind of Cruelty introduces Araminta Hall, a chilling new voice in psychological suspense. This is a love story. Mike’s love story. Mike Hayes fought his way out of a brutal childhood and into a quiet, if lonely, life before he met Verity Metcalf. V taught him about love, and in return, Mike has dedicated his life to making her happy. He’s found the perfect home, the perfect job; he’s sculpted himself into the physical ideal V has always wanted. He knows they’ll be blissfully happy together. It doesn’t matter that she hasn’t been returning his e-mails or phone calls. It doesn’t matter that she says she’s marrying Angus. It’s all just part of the secret game they used to play. If Mike watches V closely, he’ll see the signs. If he keeps track of her every move, he’ll know just when to come to her rescue . . .

After years of heartbreaks and disappointments, Joyce decided to share experiences she encountered with unhealthy friendships, that caused mental, physical and emotional pain. She wants to help the reader discern the difference between toxic friends and real friends. After a long look in the mirror, she found that sometimes we have to look at oneself and be accountable for some of the disappointing relationships in our lives.

As social creatures, we simply have the need to interact with one another for various reasons. And as you've probably experienced for yourself, not all the people you've had relationships with were ultimately good for you. For example, I imagine that sometime in your past you've known someone who regularly irritated you, another person who belittled you or otherwise diminished your self-esteem, and someone else who was manipulative or dishonest with you. Of course, no relationship is perfect since no individual person is perfect, and occasionally you need to strike a compromise in order to help a relationship develop into its full potential. Believe it or not, with enough effort from both sides, even seemingly hopeless relationships can be salvaged. With all that said, however, it's important to stand your ground when someone (especially someone who's important to you) starts to do more harm than good in your life. Unfortunately, relationships with the wrong people can adversely affect your daily life and even impact how you relate with other people in the future. Therefore, it's critical that you identify a toxic relationship as soon as possible, and make a change before it's too late. This book is designed to provide you with insight and clarity as to the health of your relationship, and it will help you come to terms with the fact that not all relationships are good for you in the long run. I'm also going to show you how to work towards repairing a broken relationship, and if it's beyond repair (or your partner is unwilling), how to prepare to let go. While most of the discussion here is directed toward romantic couples, you can certainly apply the same principles and strategies to relationships with family and close friends as well.