- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco (12 Sep 1994)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0062511041
- ISBN-13: 978-0062511041
- Product Dimensions: 18.3 x 11.9 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,026,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
At the peak of her success with "Co-dependent No More", Melody Beattie's life was turned upside-down by the death of her 12-year-old son. Her world shattered, for 18 months Beattie drew into a dark cave of despair. She couldn't think of one good reason to keep going. Then, gradually, she began to recognize that we always have a choice between succumbing to despair and embracing life. And, slowly, she learned that a passion for living can not only be reawakened but can also flourish against the greatest odds: we learn to approach what we have with great respect, to let go of that over which we have no control, and to love both in the moment - beyond the bounds of time and place. In this book, Beattie makes us see that even when we feel that life is not on our side, joy can still be found in the ordinary moments. Through a series of more than a dozen brief, reflective tales - universal "lessons of love" - she shows us how to find the magic in our lives when it all seems too hard to take.
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IT'S A FRIDAY EVENING IN FEBRUARY 1991. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
IT'S A FRIDAY EVENING IN FEBRUARY 1991. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Melody Beattie is, of course, the author of the phenomenal bestseller CODEPENDENT NO MORE. Since the publication of that first book in the 1980s, many of us in the recovery movement have come to see her as something akin to a mother figure. We are therefore interested in her life, the challenges she faces, her insights, her introspections, her epiphanies, her triumphs. Melody's writing style is so warm and embracing that it often feels as though we are reading personal messages from a dear friend.
Personal messages do not usually constitute great literature. This is certainly the case with THE LESSONS OF LOVE. The story, her struggle to come to terms with the tragic death of her son Shane, is beautiful, heartfelt, and inspiring. It appeals to me in large part because I care about Melody Beattie as a person. I want to know how she coped with what must be the most painful situation any human being could find themselves in. I want to see her come through. I feel as though I have a relationship with her work. (When I was only 17, she personally replied to my letter regarding Codependents Anonymous groups. Her work has been important to me ever since.) But I definitely would not recommend THE LESSONS OF LOVE to a friend indifferent to the recovery scene. They would perhaps be put off by Melody's interweaving of her personal story with the pick-me-up tone of recovery prose. ("This book is my golden ring for you," she says to the reader in the introduction.)
So, whether you appreciate THE LESSONS OF LOVE may be gauged by how you feel about the genre that Melody Beattie has helped define. This is the closest I've ever seen her come to conventional storytelling, but it is unmistakable that it belongs in the self-help/recovery/personal empowerment section of the bookstore. If you do not find yourself drawn to that section, then you may not appreciate this book. If, however, you are like me, love this genre, view Melody Beattie as a source of comfort, then THE LESSONS OF LOVE is a highly recommended.
Andrew Parodi
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
15 reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
A Journey
31 Aug 2001
Format:Paperback
Melody Beattie writes a very compelling and heartfelt account of a painful journey through heartbreak. "The Lessons of Love" will touch your soul and your heart. Beautifully written.
The author takes us through her grieving process, her fight with wanting to live and her struggle learning to live again after a trajedy that completely knocks her off her feet.
This book contains tested truths on how to live and why we should live with gusto even after trajedy obstructs our view. Melody honestly and compelling shares with us her trials in darkness, her anger, her tears and her heartbreak. She also shares with us her learning, her hopefulness and her vision of magic.
This book is for those who look beneath the surface of life for those intricate nuances that make us all tick. I highly recommend this book to those of you who are searching and who long to discover some of life's mysteries. Though this book is deep, Melody writes in a very easy to read fashion. You will not get bogged down in big words and you will not need to read between the lines. Even though Melody's story is very sad in parts, this book is refreshingly real and clear.
The author takes us through her grieving process, her fight with wanting to live and her struggle learning to live again after a trajedy that completely knocks her off her feet.
This book contains tested truths on how to live and why we should live with gusto even after trajedy obstructs our view. Melody honestly and compelling shares with us her trials in darkness, her anger, her tears and her heartbreak. She also shares with us her learning, her hopefulness and her vision of magic.
This book is for those who look beneath the surface of life for those intricate nuances that make us all tick. I highly recommend this book to those of you who are searching and who long to discover some of life's mysteries. Though this book is deep, Melody writes in a very easy to read fashion. You will not get bogged down in big words and you will not need to read between the lines. Even though Melody's story is very sad in parts, this book is refreshingly real and clear.
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Melody Beattie's most poignant work
15 Jan 2004
Format:Paperback
Melody Beattie is, of course, the author of the phenomenal bestseller CODEPENDENT NO MORE. Since the publication of that first book in the 1980s, many of us in the recovery movement have come to see her as something akin to a mother figure. We are therefore interested in her life, the challenges she faces, her insights, her introspections, her epiphanies, her triumphs. Melody's writing style is so warm and embracing that it often feels as though we are reading personal messages from a dear friend.
Personal messages do not usually constitute great literature. This is certainly the case with THE LESSONS OF LOVE. The story, her struggle to come to terms with the tragic death of her son Shane, is beautiful, heartfelt, and inspiring. It appeals to me in large part because I care about Melody Beattie as a person. I want to know how she coped with what must be the most painful situation any human being could find themselves in. I want to see her come through. I feel as though I have a relationship with her work. (When I was only 17, she personally replied to my letter regarding Codependents Anonymous groups. Her work has been important to me ever since.) But I definitely would not recommend THE LESSONS OF LOVE to a friend indifferent to the recovery scene. They would perhaps be put off by Melody's interweaving of her personal story with the pick-me-up tone of recovery prose. ("This book is my golden ring for you," she says to the reader in the introduction.)
So, whether you appreciate THE LESSONS OF LOVE may be gauged by how you feel about the genre that Melody Beattie has helped define. This is the closest I've ever seen her come to conventional storytelling, but it is unmistakable that it belongs in the self-help/recovery/personal empowerment section of the bookstore. If you do not find yourself drawn to that section, then you may not appreciate this book. If, however, you are like me, love this genre, view Melody Beattie as a source of comfort, then THE LESSONS OF LOVE is a highly recommended.
Personal messages do not usually constitute great literature. This is certainly the case with THE LESSONS OF LOVE. The story, her struggle to come to terms with the tragic death of her son Shane, is beautiful, heartfelt, and inspiring. It appeals to me in large part because I care about Melody Beattie as a person. I want to know how she coped with what must be the most painful situation any human being could find themselves in. I want to see her come through. I feel as though I have a relationship with her work. (When I was only 17, she personally replied to my letter regarding Codependents Anonymous groups. Her work has been important to me ever since.) But I definitely would not recommend THE LESSONS OF LOVE to a friend indifferent to the recovery scene. They would perhaps be put off by Melody's interweaving of her personal story with the pick-me-up tone of recovery prose. ("This book is my golden ring for you," she says to the reader in the introduction.)
So, whether you appreciate THE LESSONS OF LOVE may be gauged by how you feel about the genre that Melody Beattie has helped define. This is the closest I've ever seen her come to conventional storytelling, but it is unmistakable that it belongs in the self-help/recovery/personal empowerment section of the bookstore. If you do not find yourself drawn to that section, then you may not appreciate this book. If, however, you are like me, love this genre, view Melody Beattie as a source of comfort, then THE LESSONS OF LOVE is a highly recommended.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Truly a gift & written from the heart & soul.
28 Mar 1999
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I read the first few pages and didn't stop until I'd finished the whole entire book in one reading! I cried, I laughed, I shared in Melody's story, joys, sorrow, pain, hardships, and felt I took the journey with her and her family.
Melody writes from the heart and it must have been so painful and probably at the same time cleansing to write about her son's tragic accident [I cried so much at that part I couldn't see!]. This book is good for those who've suffered losses and hardships over and over and feel what is the point, what's the meaning of life etc ... as Melody so wonderfully and magically shares her story, she shares how there is a point to our lives, and that there is meaning and there is hope. You have to read the book to find out more! Melody says it just so beautifully.
It's a wonderful book which I will read and re-read again and again. I only wish that Shane's picture had been published in the book. Thank you Melody!
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