Doormats & Control Freaks

How to Recognize, Heal or End Codependent Relationships

by Rebekah Lewis

Have you ever stayed in a relationship where your partner is criticizing or demeaning you, hoping that things would improve? How far would you go to keep that relationship alive? Do you think a bad relationship is better than no relationship at all? People who have codependent tendencies are at constant risk: of underestimating themselves, selling themselves short, or even worse, entering into abusive relationships, because they truly feel that they have no value except in the eyes of others.

In Doormats & Control Freaks, Rebekah Lewis recounts her own experiences with low self-esteem and codependent tendencies, and shows readers how to recognize this type of behavior in themselves. Stressing the learned natures of these destructive behaviors and attitudes, she gives readers important strategies for unlearning and creating healthier, happier relationships with others.

Here is an insightful, essential step-by-step guide to creating healthy relationships. Included are thought-provoking sections on how our culture, from fairy tales to the internet, enforces the idea that a bad relationship is better than no relationship at all. Also featured are quizzes, tables and real life examples to help readers identify and conquer codependent behaviors in their lives.

Lewis’s “twelve-step” plan provides the starting point for increased self-esteem and an emotionally fulfilling lifestyle. The unique approach of Doormats & Control Freaks spotlights damaging attitudes and gives readers the tools to believe in and stand up for themselves in all areas of life.

“Lewis’s accounts of her own experience with codependency will make readers feel that she understands their problems...Lewis has unearthed some fresh material and put her own spin on the topic.”
— Publisher's Weekly

Rebekah Lewis holds Master’s degrees in Psychology and Education and is currently working towards her Ph.D. in Psychology at Centenary College of Louisiana. An instructor in English and Language Arts, Rebekah has been writing informally for most of her life. She is already working on her second book, a chronicle of her experiences teaching in a troubled school. She currently resides with her two sons in Shreveport, Louisiana.

A New Horizon Press Release
Self-help/Relationships
5½ x 8¼, 208 pages
LC #2004118080, world rights
ISBN-13: 978-0-88282-257-0 (pb), $13.95