Identifying & Breaking the Cycle

Our friendships, family ties, and romantic connections give meaning and joy to our lives. But such relationships often assume negative patterns of behavior that can induce long-term harm. In the worst cases, these patterns develop into recurring, cycles that stretch over lifetimes and even spill out into the next generation, where they are repeated again. Breaking the Cycle gives hope to individuals and families affected by such patterns. Drawing on a wealth of personal experience and academic expertise, Saniyyah Mayo offers victims a way out: first by empowering them to recognize the cycles where they occur, and then by offering them concrete tools to address the root of the problem. Using detailed case studies to exemplify how such cycles are born and how they can seriously impact those around us (even when we overlook the signs of trouble), Mayo gives lucid, point-by-point instruction on how and when to create "boundaries" as a defense against cyclical problems. Mayo leaves no stone unturned in her exhaustive study of such cycles. Her book addresses divorce, blended families, dating dynamics, the interaction between newly married spouses and parents (as well as children from previous marriages), platonic friendships, and religion. Life can be difficult, especially when one's psychological problems are so deeply rooted as to seem invisible, but Breaking the Cycle offers a valuable resource to anyone in need of a helping hand, or to those who can benefit from being made aware of destructive behavior before it gets out of hand.