Life Without Jealousy: A Practical Guide
Lynda Bevan
Loving Healing Press (2009)
ISBN 9781932690859
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (3/09)
“Life Without Jealousy” is the fourth book in the 10-Step Empowerment series. It is a practical guide to help you to overcome jealousy. The first step in dealing with jealousy is learning to understand what it is and common reasons of why it occurs. For myself, I discovered that I most often encounter this negative emotion when I am feeling insecure because I feel my relationship is being threatened. Being aware of this will really help me recognize the signs earlier on, which in turn will help me deal with the emotion before I start back into my old negative patterns. Upon reflection, I realized that I would have benefited from ending relationships much sooner where my emotional needs were not being met.
I found the discussion on the difference between jealousy and envy to be very enlightening. I decided that I would no longer tell people that “I am jealous or envious” of something that they have, even if I mean it in a joking way. It really puts some negative emotions out there. I want to try to completely remove myself from these mindsets.
The third step in the program discusses over ten types of jealousy. For myself, I have always been most affected regarding relationship jealousy. It is wonderful that more types are discussed. This will allow everyone who is experiencing some form of jealousy to benefit from what they read in these pages. Also of great benefit are the introspective questions that are in each chapter. As I read the material, I gained a greater understanding of the subject, and then by contemplating the questions, I was able to see how the information applied to me. Beneficial, realistic suggestions are also offered. At the end of the book is an appendix with emergency contacts and a bibliography which readers can refer to for more information.
I truly feel that every individual who is dealing with issues of some form of jealousy will greatly benefit from reading “Life Without Jealousy” by Lynda Bevan. This includes people who are not jealous themselves but are being affected by others who are. Learning to understand it, overcome it, and gain effective new ways to communicate will greatly improve the quality of our lives.
