Dreamin’ Reviews: All about the B word.

By: Jasmin Roden, LMSW, CAADC

This week's review is on one of my favorite books that I have read in the past six months. The title of this book is Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A guide to reclaiming yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab. Nedra is a licensed clinical social worker who earned her undergraduate and graduate degree at Wayne State University. Based on her bio, she is a sought after relationship therapist that believes that healthy boundaries are the key to a thriving relationship. Nedra also has a wonderful instagram page where she shares videos and posts on tips on how to set boundaries. I truly enjoy and appreciate her delivery on this topic. I just discovered that she also has a podcast! 

Boundaries are a vital component to living a healthy and balanced life. Without boundaries, one may feel depleted, resentful and anxious. Nedra does a wonderful job in explaining and providing examples of the three levels of boundaries.  After every chapter she offers an exercise component for the reader to self-reflect on their own boundaries. Hot tip: Do the exercises to truly benefit the most from reading this book. 

Part one of this book is all about what boundaries truly are and why they are important. Nedra starts with an introduction of signs that you may need to set boundaries. Some of those are: you feel overwhelmed or have resentment towards others and you have no time for yourself. Nedra breaks down the six types of boundaries which include physical, sexual, intellectual, emotional, material and time boundaries. Nedra provides easy to understand examples of what boundary violations look like and how to identify and communicate your boundaries with others and yourself.

Part two of the book is a deeper dive into specific boundaries in situations such as at work, with your family, friends, romantic relationships and with social media and technology. At the very end of her book she provides a self-assessment quiz for further self-reflection on what types of boundaries you currently have. As always, I do my very best to practice what I preach and I read and did the exercises in this book. It was a wake up call for me on my social media usage. One tip that I took away from this and have applied, is being mindful of who I follow on my social media accounts. I have unfollowed people and pages that are not conducive to what my values and goals are. 

Readability: Easy and clear to understand. No googling occurred on my end while reading this book.  

Recommended Reader: Truly anyone could benefit from reading at least a portion of this book, besides children. There are so many great examples and suggestions. I strongly recommend that you have a journal to go with while reading. Nedra also has an accompanying workbook that mirrors the content that is in her book for further self-reflection and thought provoking questions. Fellow therapists, Nedra also has a flip book that can be used when educating clients on boundaries.

It is important to note that these books and other resources are not appropriate or meant  to replace mental health or substance abuse treatment. If your symptoms are impacting your daily life, please seek treatment.

You can purchase the book discussed in this blog by clicking this link: Set Boundaries Find Peace. Don’t forget to check your local library and independent book store.