cover image Boundaries Face to Face: How to Have That Difficult Conversation You've Been Avoiding

Boundaries Face to Face: How to Have That Difficult Conversation You've Been Avoiding

Henry Cloud, John Townsend. Zondervan, $22.99 (272pp) ISBN 978-0-310-22152-4

Drs. Cloud and Townsend, whose book ""Boundaries"" sold more than a million copies and won a Gold Medallion award, have established a Boundaries franchise with niche titles on boundaries in marriage, dating and parenting. This book continues the flourishing series, with advice on conflict resolution and cultivating mutual respect. ""Successful people confront well,"" the authors observe, laying out tools for readers to stop simply avoiding conflict and start having productive, loving confrontations. Their advice for such conversations is familiar: listen actively; clarify the problem; affirm the other person; acknowledge your own part in the problem; and commit to being an agent for change. The second half of the book offers practical, hands-on advice for preparing for and having a difficult conversation, complete with specific suggestions of what to say--and what not to say. The Bible is used as a resource throughout, but not in a heavy-handed way, making this a valuable self-help manual for people from many walks of life.