Saturday, December 17, 2011

48. "Narcissistic Lovers" by Cynthia Zayn and Kevin Dibble


Zayn, Cynthia and Dibble, Kevin. Narcissistic Lovers: How to Cope, Recover and Move On. New Horizon Press, 2007. Ebook

224 pages

Reviewed by J. d’Artagnan Love

Narcissistic Lovers explains what Narcissistic Personality Disorder is and provides examples of narcissistic relationships. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is different from common uses of the term "narcissism." It is a pervasive, destructive disorder that is often at the root of abuse Each chapter of this book describes a different aspect of Narcissistic Personality Disorder and provides real-life examples.

One of this book’s strengths is its accessibility. Readers involved with a narcissistic relationship will easily be able to recognize the red flags in the scenarios provided in this book. Narcissistic Lovers is clear, and easy to understand which makes it very accessible. Sometimes books about personality disorders can become mired in psychology research and fail to explain things in a way that is easy for most people without psychology degrees to understand. This is not one of those books. The writers use solid psychological research but they explain the research in a way that is easy to comprehend.

Along with explaining what narcissism is and providing examples of narcissistic relationships, the book offers help to those who are stuck in one of these relationships. It is no replacement for psychotherapy or work with a mental health professional but it does offer a victim of narcissism some breathing room—a chance to step back and say “Ok, I get it now.”

5 darts out of 5
Bookshelf project status: KEEP

3 comments:

Lynn Benoit said...

I've read some other books on narcissists, it's scary how many most of us bump into. This book sounds like a good one- lots of real life examples.

d'Artagnan said...

Yeah, narcissists are tricky. This book really emphasizes that narcissists know they are being manipulative, selfish, dishonest and are using people, but they choose to continue doing it anyway.

I've dealt with my share of narcissists and this book has helped me pick up the red flags in behavior so I am better able to avoid certain situations.

Unknown said...

I am so happy that I ran across this book!! I realized a year ago that I was in a marriage with a narcissist who "discarded" me after six months of marriage. This book described him to a "t." It pointed out so many scenarios that I found myself in with him. At the time I didn't realize those were narcissistic traits, but now I understand why he did side of the things that he did. I also know that even though he keeps making attempts to contact me, I will maintain the no contact rule and see if this really works. I am so glad this book was written. I wish I could give a shout out to the authors personally for providing me with this much needed insight.