cover image How to Live with the Difficult Man You Love: You Know You Love Him -- Now How Do You Live with Him? -- As a Husband, as a Father, as a Friend

How to Live with the Difficult Man You Love: You Know You Love Him -- Now How Do You Live with Him? -- As a Husband, as a Father, as a Friend

Nancy Good. St. Martin's Press, $21.95 (212pp) ISBN 978-0-312-11421-3

All men, according to psychotherapist Good (How to Love a Difficult Man), are difficult, but breaking up is usually not a woman's best option. Drawing on case studies from 16 years of clinical practice, Good describes the various types of difficult men, the three types of men women should leave (or avoid), how to break down barriers of fear, risks and rewards of speaking up, why anger is healthy, and the impact of family connections. Chapters 5-8 concentrate on getting through to the man who thinks he doesn't want children, and making him a better father after they arrive. While much of her counsel is common sense, Good seems to assume most men are willing to change if only their mate speaks up, and some of her advice is manipulative (eight ways to threaten to leave without really leaving). The possibility that a woman may be difficult as well is not addressed. (Nov.)