Taming Your Outer Child: Overcoming Self-Sabotage and Healing from Abandonment Paperback – February 17, 2015

And trust me, I’ve read a LOT of them! I heard Susan Anderson on a podcast and was intrigued so I bought her book…. and my life was changed! Having survived a childhood swallowed up in shame and zero self worth, followed by some horrible choices in my young adult life, I have been on a desperate journey of healing ever since. The concepts in this book - about self-compassion and understanding our unwanted bad behavior made so much sense, and I found myself healing more and more on every page! For anyone serious about doing their hard but so-effective work, I can’t recommend this book highly enough! I wish I could give it 11 out of 5 stars!

It took me awhile to finish reading the book but when I did finish it I felt the sense off sadness because I was so connected to the stories and practicing all the techniques. At the end of this book I feel I have learned a lot about myself and my sabotage and behavior. Thank you so much for writing this book

Huge, huge healer for abandonment in childhood. Can’t say enough about it- easy to read & straight to the point.

So far, I'm really enjoying this. Learning things about myself and others that will make a significant impact on how I handle my anger and stress. Learning your trigger points is easy by following along.

I’ve been through some severe childhood traumas and I have been in therapy for almost 40 years off and on, constantly searching for something to help me with my recklessness and rebellion and self sabotage and sadness and just an overall feeling of not belonging in this world. Susan Anderson’s book was life-changing for me. I literally went through a metamorphosis in two months after reading this book and downloading her videos on her website. This is something that I will continue to use and continue to heal that wounded inner child. Becoming the adult in charge instead of the rebellious outer child has allowed me to heal and feel in control of my life for the first time and that feels liberating.

I'm sending copies of this book to everyone I know who has abandonment issues. I bought it to help me with my overwhelming tendency to procrastinate. In just days I begin to see an incremental difference in the way I feel about the things I need to get done. That sudden panicky feeling that was attached to every thought of doing something constructive for myself began to fade and a new sense of security and motivation took over. You can trust me when I tell you that my abandonment issues are deep-seated and go back a long time, earlier than I can remember. In my childhood I was abandoned by my mother and father, betrayed and abused by my older siblings. In adulthood I was a single mother having been abandoned by my son's father and most recently, lost my son to drugs and heart disease at the age of 29. I'm here to tell you that this program (along with other therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and the 12-step program of Al-Anon) have saved my life, literally. I was at a point after my son died that I was rehearsing killing myself. Learning about my inner child stopped me. Learning about my Outer child is bringing me back to life. BUY THIS BOOK!!

This book offers a completely new paradigm for understanding persistent self-sabotage and the underlying emotions that you are not listening to. The author connects the Outer Child concept to recent brain research. It helped me understand how my Outer Child has been driving my life choices far too often, that my Inner Child has been abandoned and that my Adult Self needs to be strengthened considerably. The healing dialogs take some daily work and ongoing commitment, but are well worth it. In the last two months I've procrastinated far, far less, doubled the amount of daily exercise I'm doing, all but stopped watching TV, resumed meditation and improved my diet & weight loss. It's been eye-opening! Well-worth it if you're tired of getting in your own way and not achieving your life goals.

This book has absolutely changed my life. I have struggled and struggled for many years. Long story short it turns out I have major fear of abandonment issues. It truly came to light when my partner packed up and moved out...because I essentially pushed him to the limit. I was absolutely devastated even though I should have expected him to give up. This book has brought so much to light for me. I cannot stress enough how vital this book has been in my recovery. I went on to discover Susan's abandonment website and purchased her workbook, too. I am on page 80 of that 300 page amazing workbook, also. You must be willing to do the work in this book. If you do not do the work, you will not see any change. My life has changed in a profound and powerful way. Thank you, Susan. I am profoundly grateful for your insight. Thank you.