Shame: Free Yourself, Find Joy and Build True Self Esteem

Encounters with embarrassment, guilt, self-consciousness, and remorse are unavoidable in everyday life. Although uncomfortable they often have something to teach us. This family of emotions, collectively known as shame, can help highlight our goals and values, and can be used as a tool for self-knowledge. In this accessible and engaging book psychotherapist Joseph Burgo draws on his 35 years of experience in private practice to reclaim this supposedly toxic emotion and transform it into a force of empowerment. Self-esteem canÕt thrive in the soil of nonstop praise and encouragement. Instead it depends upon setting and meeting goals, living up to the expectations we hold for ourselves, and sharing our joy in achievement with the people who matter most to us. This intimate look at the spectrum of shame emotions offers a new, positive route forward from shame to joy, dignity, and self-esteem.