The Intimacy Struggle: Revised and Expanded for All Adults

by Janet Geringer Woititz

The struggle for intimacy is a complex issue, key to the happiness of every man and woman. It goes on for all of us as long as we live. To be intimate is to be close, to be vulnerable, qualities that are very different from the survival skills we learned. This book will help clarify the issues for you.

You can learn to:
Identify family myths to make you wonder whether having a healthy, intimate relationship is possible.

Know the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558742778
• ISBN13: 9781558742772
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Health Communications
• Length: 135 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Still a great book after 20 years

Over 20 years ago my soon-to-be-husband and I read Janet Woititz's "Struggle for Intimacy" together. I had been in an ACA group for a few months and had just met "Mr. Right" and did NOT want to sabotage yet another relationship as I had so many times before. With this book as our "bible" we hammered out a plan for a sane relationship that has lasted, yes, 20 years. Happily! No kidding! I have just ordered another three copies of her updated edition "The Intimacy Struggle." I think I have owned, loaned, and given away at least ten copies of these two books over the years, to friends and family. The other reviews say it all. This is an awesomely clear and direct book, and practical as all getout. My husband and I owe a great debt of gratitude to Dr. Woititz. Buy it.

Understanding Myself

Do not hesitate to read this book...it has changed my life. This book has rated a solid #1; the best self-help book I have ever read. The reason for how I act and react are exact. This book touched every area of my life from my childhood to adulthood. My experience with alcohol? Alcohol has affected every area of my life: alcoholic parent; drunk driver killed my mother, divorced an alcoholic after 30 years; now raising a child of an alcoholic parent. I am reading this book to my child now; my question to her.."is this helping you"..her response "that is exactly how I feel"..my response..."we can't change the past, but we change the future".

This fills in the gaps other ACoA books leave.

I have read a good deal on ACoAs, being one myself and having stuggled with the issues inherent in that. All the books make the general statement that "ACoAs have problems in intimate relationships," but none of them went into the whys and wherefores. This book fixes that. It is an easy read and cuts to the chase without going in to a lot of theory, so if you want to get to the heart of the matter, this is the book.

Handbook to AC behavior and solutions

I just finished reading the book "The Intimacy Struggle". I found this book to be a concise handbook to AC behavior and -- perhaps more usefully -- to approaches for couples to take in dealing with those behaviors. Because it's written for BOTH parties in the relationship, it's a good way for an non-AC (or less dysfunctional person) to learn how and why an AC person thinks and acts the way they do. When both parties have this knowledge, together they can use the approaches described in the book to work towards a healthy successful relationship. It's a short book, just over 100 pages, so it's a fast read. It has a "handbook" quality to it, with AC behavior described in a sentence, followed by further description of the behavior and suggested ways to deal with it. My story: as soon as I finished it, I handed it to the woman I've been seeing and she's reading it, and we are talking about our pasts and our current behaviors, and have already used the knowledge to avoid situations that could have hurt our relationship. What could be a better testimonial than that? Thank you, Janet !

Wonderful!

I found myself within the pages of this book! That is no exaggeration. Recently, I have noticed destructive patterns emerging within my failed relationships and searched for the reason behind this. Literally, until yesterday (I read the book last night), I had no idea what was causing my actions and the resulting actions from my former partners. Previously, I had minimized the long-term affects of my childhood experiences. Now, I see how this experience has touched almost every aspect of who I am. Identification of the problem is the first step to recovery. As an ACOA, I feel validated and on the path to recovery. God Bless Janet Woititz and my fellow ACOAs. Do not wait...start the healing process now!