• The Journey from Abandonment to Healing

  • Surviving Through and Recovering from the Five Stages That Accompany the Loss of Love
  • By: Susan Anderson
  • Narrated by: Randye Kaye
  • Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (506 ratings)

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The Journey from Abandonment to Healing  By  cover art

The Journey from Abandonment to Healing

By: Susan Anderson
Narrated by: Randye Kaye
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Publisher's summary

Like Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' groundbreaking On Death and Dying, Susan Anderson's book clearly defines the five phases of a different kind of grieving - grieving over a lost relationship. An experienced professional who has specialized in helping people with loss, heartbreak, and abandonment for more than two decades, Anderson gives this subject the serious attention it deserves. The Journey from Abandonment to Healing is designed to help all victims of emotional breakups - whether they are suffering from a recent loss or a lingering wound from the past; whether they are caught up in patterns that sabotage their own relationships or they are in a relationship where they no longer feel loved. From the first stunning blow to starting over, this book provides a complete program for abandonment recovery.

©2000, 2014 Susan Anderson, CSW (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"If there can be a pill to cure the heartbreak of rejection, this book may be it." ---Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

What listeners say about The Journey from Abandonment to Healing

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Amazing Book

What made the experience of listening to The Journey from Abandonment to Healing the most enjoyable?

It's been five years since my 20-year marriage was destroyed one morning. I have searched for books, gone to counseling but nothing made sense until I started reading this book.

What did you like best about this story?

I wondered how my partner was able to move on so quickly while I was still in love and incapable of moving on. This book described my situation to a "T" and was the first book that made sense to me. It helped me to get on the road to recovery. It is a must read if you are grieving over a relationship and can't seem to move on.

What did you learn from The Journey from Abandonment to Healing that you would use in your daily life?

I cannot look to anybody or anything else for my happiness except inside myself.

Any additional comments?

I feel deep gratitude to the author for writing this book.

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31 people found this helpful

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Read it, don't listen to it.

If you're in the middle of abandonment and grief, the contents of this book are invaluable. However, the narrator's performance couldn't be more inappropriate for this subject matter. I'm not convinced she knew what she was reading during the recording session. The narrator reads the book with a joyful, almost flirtatious tone, that is infuriating for someone who is struggling with the gut wrenching feelings of loss and heartache. It's like she thought she was reading a cheeky romance novel. The performance is so careless, it almost feels like it's on purpose.

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25 people found this helpful

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I cried so hard for so much of this!

FINALLY! Explanations for why I feel panic every time I get close to someone, why my body reacts the way it does. I am gay and was raised in a fundamentalist Christian group, the threat of 'if you're gay, I'll disown you ' was always spoken.
At 34, I'm finally learning how to love that little boy inside who only wanted to be loved for who he was. Thank you so much!

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Excellent! A must-listen!

This book may be helpful for those who have issues related to abandonment, low self-esteem, negative cyclical thoughts, sustaining relationships, trust that loved ones/good things in their lives are steady and reliable, etc. I'm so grateful I listened to this, and have been recommending it to my friends. And now I'm recommending it to you! I hope it helps you. If not, please keep trying and looking.

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finally! A book for our particular type of grief

Should be a mandatory reading for all mental health professionals. one size grief doesn't fit all.

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You need this book.

This book helped me through a really difficult time in my life.

I had been searching for a therapist, and in the meantime I found this book. This book was so useful to me and what I was going through that I no longer needed to see a therapist so urgently. This book, by no means, is a replacement for therapy, but it has given me tools I connect with, and have been using regularly to better myself.

If you are the kind of person who is willing to grow and learn about yourself and others, read this. It provides really simple tools to help make difficult situations much better managed. I now have the ability to act with reason and logic when presented with difficult or upsetting information, rather than feeling anger or sadness. I understand my emotions much better now.

She also uses biological facts about how the brain processes information, which has provided some much needed justification.

I will keep listening to this book as a reference, and have recommended it with a few people already. I could not recommend it more highly.

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Pam@beachluxuryhomes.co.za

This book, I found very helpful to understand what is clearly going on for me in my life. I have been abandoned many times in my life. The last time was by my beloved friend and husband of 33 years together. I now am beginning to see how to deal with my feelings, thanks to the clarity I got from the book. I would need to listen to it again because I felt the big, little, inner child, outer child process, was confusing to me and in order to get more clarity on this process, I need to understand it better. It's difficult to take everything in clearly, the first time.
This book was recommended to me by my Life Practitioner/therapist. I really enjoyed the clarity and healing I felt from this book,
Thank you Susan.
I have forward the book to a number of my colleagues and hope it will bring some clarity to them as it has for me.
Regards,
Pamela

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This Book Will Always Be One Of My Favorites

Susan Anderson helped me turn my life around with her books. If you don't have her Abandonment Recovery Workbook, you should get that too. Understanding the SWIRL process has bee a huge life-saver for me. I now have tools to deal with my own abandonment issues and I use Susan's tools on a daily basis. If you grew up in a family where parents were abusive, unavailable, absent, or neglectful, you need this book!

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What a waste of time

This entire book sound like one of those weight loss videos where they tell you “listen to me for the next 10 hours and you’ll be enlightened”. Not only was not helpful but its aggravating af. From the reviews i was expecting more of a solution prospective, instead is a long ass explanation of things I already know, without getting to any solution. Sit there and b in pain and try to brainwash yourself something good comes out of it is no help to anyone. Don’t waste your time.

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Like talking to a wise loving friend

I highly recommend this book to anyone finding themselves in (and out of) relationships where they experience rejection and lack of caring. Reading this book is like talking to a wise and incredibly loving friend. The exercises help healing. I only wish Susan narrated it herself.

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