The Balancing Act
Creating Healthy Dependency and Connection without Losing Yourself
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected 10 Feb 2026
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- €10.99
Publisher Description
From the bestselling author of Set Boundaries, Find Peace, a guide to understanding healthy dependency - to bring our relationships back into balance
I need some space.
Why are you so distant?
You want more than I can give.
Every relationship in our lives - from love and close friendship to extended family and our wider social circle - is a balancing act. If we give too much, we begin to lose ourselves. If we protect ourselves too much, we lose the closeness we all need. Getting the balance right is how we find more connection, authenticity, and joy.
The Balancing Act is a roadmap for finding that balance. With her signature blend of clarity and compassion, therapist Nedra Glover Tawwab sheds light on healthy dependency, and how to achieve it. Along the way, she unpacks buzzwords and trending topics including co-dependency, attachment styles, inner family systems and more - offering practical advice for recognising our needs, navigating conflict, and finding more harmony with the important people in our lives.
Whether you're yearning for more trust with a spouse or partner, more clarity with a best friend or sibling, or more agency in how you show up in the world, these insights will help you re-evaluate, reset and relate better.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This pragmatic guide from therapist Tawwab (Set Boundaries, Find Peace) outlines how to forge relationships that balance connection with independence. The first half of the book unpacks the roots of unhealthy relationships, among them childhood trauma, mental health challenges, and insecure attachment styles (the ways in which people approach close relationships, often rooted in early experiences with caregivers; those with an "anxious" attachment style, for example, can find it tough to form close connections due to ingrained distrust). To improve their relationships, readers should clearly ask for help when they're having a crisis, balance time alone with time spent together (those who struggle with solo time can find new hobbies or learn to be "alone together"), and recognize that not all relationships require the same level of closeness. Tawwab bolsters her lucid advice for analyzing relationships that aren't working with plenty of practical tools, including conversational scripts, question prompts, and bulleted lists. Readers who feel dissatisfied with their social lives would do well to take a look.
