Uptight and In Your Face

January 1, 2011
Counselor, professor, and author (Dead End Lovers, 2008, and other psychologically oriented texts), Brown has written an excruciatingly painful book. Why is it painful? Because it brings, upfront and personal, memories of all the narcissistic individuals who have inhabited ones life, whether they be boss or parent, partner or co-worker or friend. The saddest of all is that, in the end, theres not much anyone can do to change an errant persons behavior. Given that fact of life, Brown spends much of her narrative identifying and describing, via a series of quizzes and explanations, the attributes of five different uptight individuals: hoarders, austere withholders, entitled workaholics, manipulative controllers, and revengeful complainers. Does the person withhold approval? Chances are that that person is categorized as austere, and the best coping tactic in dealing with that kind of individual is to become more self-sufficient. Her remedies are these: set psychological (and physical, if needed) boundaries, practice stress-reduction techniques, and insulate your emotions and feelings. A beginners course in combating narcissism.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)