The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)
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The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did) Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Philippa Perry (Author, Narrator), Penguin Audio (Publisher)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 10,049 ratings
Editors' pick Best Nonfiction
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Brought to you by Penguin.

THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

From the UK's favourite therapist, as seen on Channel 4's Grayson's Art Club.

How can we have better relationships?

In this Sunday Times bestseller, leading psychotherapist Philippa Perry reveals the vital do's and don'ts of relationships. This is a book for us all. Whether you are interested in understanding how your upbringing has shaped you, looking to handle your child's feelings or wishing to support your partner, you will find indispensable information and realistic tips in these pages. Philippa Perry's sane, sage and judgement-free advice is an essential resource on how to have the best possible relationships with the people who matter to you most.

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  1. Listening Length
    8 hours and 52 minutes
  2. Author
    Philippa Perry
  3. Narrator
    Philippa Perry
  4. Audible release date
    March 7, 2019
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Penguin Audio
  7. ASIN
    B07PGFZJTL
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 8 hours and 52 minutes
Author Philippa Perry
Narrator Philippa Perry
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date March 07, 2019
Publisher Penguin Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B07PGFZJTL
Best Sellers Rank #24,909 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#30 in Parenting Infants & Toddlers
#48 in Child Psychology (Audible Books & Originals)
#74 in Relationship Conflict Resolution

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
10,049 global ratings
Wish I read this 10 years ago
5 Stars
Wish I read this 10 years ago
Reading this book is like cleaning out your closet: It breaks down all your emotions and your trauma and your feelings into smaller bits, makes them easy to understand, and then puts them all back in their proper places, so they can't hurt your children anymore.It made me feel seen, validated my experiences as a child, and made no judgements about all the mistakes I've made as a parent. And after i was healed, it turned me around and pointed me at my child, so i can now begin to heal them of the trauma I've caused unwittingly, and ease them into a life of security and love, and don't we all want that for our children?
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Top reviews from the United States

Amanda Olberding
5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I read this 10 years ago
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2024
Verified Purchase
Reading this book is like cleaning out your closet: It breaks down all your emotions and your trauma and your feelings into smaller bits, makes them easy to understand, and then puts them all back in their proper places, so they can't hurt your children anymore.
It made me feel seen, validated my experiences as a child, and made no judgements about all the mistakes I've made as a parent. And after i was healed, it turned me around and pointed me at my child, so i can now begin to heal them of the trauma I've caused unwittingly, and ease them into a life of security and love, and don't we all want that for our children?
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Amanda Olberding
5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I read this 10 years ago
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2024
Reading this book is like cleaning out your closet: It breaks down all your emotions and your trauma and your feelings into smaller bits, makes them easy to understand, and then puts them all back in their proper places, so they can't hurt your children anymore.
It made me feel seen, validated my experiences as a child, and made no judgements about all the mistakes I've made as a parent. And after i was healed, it turned me around and pointed me at my child, so i can now begin to heal them of the trauma I've caused unwittingly, and ease them into a life of security and love, and don't we all want that for our children?
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2 people found this helpful
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Gizem Aktan
5.0 out of 5 stars Embracing empathy
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024
Verified Purchase
"The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read" by Philippa Perry is a refreshingly candid and empathetic guide to navigating the complexities of parenthood. Perry brings her expertise as a psychotherapist and her own experiences as a parent to offer insightful advice on fostering a healthy parent-child relationship.

The book goes beyond traditional parenting manuals, focusing on the emotional aspects of parenting and encouraging parents to reflect on their own upbringing. Perry provides practical tools to build communication, empathy, and understanding within the family dynamic. Her conversational writing style and real-life examples make the book accessible and relatable.

"The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read" is a valuable resource for both new and experienced parents, offering a holistic approach to parenting that emphasizes emotional connection. It challenges conventional wisdom and invites parents to embrace a more open and compassionate approach, making it a recommended read for anyone seeking to enhance their parenting journey.
Customer image
Gizem Aktan
5.0 out of 5 stars Embracing empathy
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024
"The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read" by Philippa Perry is a refreshingly candid and empathetic guide to navigating the complexities of parenthood. Perry brings her expertise as a psychotherapist and her own experiences as a parent to offer insightful advice on fostering a healthy parent-child relationship.

The book goes beyond traditional parenting manuals, focusing on the emotional aspects of parenting and encouraging parents to reflect on their own upbringing. Perry provides practical tools to build communication, empathy, and understanding within the family dynamic. Her conversational writing style and real-life examples make the book accessible and relatable.

"The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read" is a valuable resource for both new and experienced parents, offering a holistic approach to parenting that emphasizes emotional connection. It challenges conventional wisdom and invites parents to embrace a more open and compassionate approach, making it a recommended read for anyone seeking to enhance their parenting journey.
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One person found this helpful
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Brian Gongol
5.0 out of 5 stars If you're not cloistered away from all human contact, this book has something for you
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2021
Verified Purchase
Everyone is or has been at least one of these things: Parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, niece, or nephew. Most of us inhabit more than one of those roles, and they can define us, shape us, and not uncommonly, dominate our self-understanding in ways both good and bad. There is no shortage of specific advice to parents on subjects from children’s sleeping habits to discipline, and it comes in a vast range of qualities, from excellent to dreadful.

A theme common to many of these parental-advice books is to frame matters in training terms: Sleep training, potty training, discipline training, and so on. While the training mindset may be useful for specific subjects a child needs to learn, it’s inadequate to the big picture of parenting. That’s what makes Philippa Perry’s “The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read” a refreshing and highly worthwhile alternative to read.

Perry, who practices as a psychotherapist and admits to her own parenting faults refreshingly and openly in her book, makes the excellent case that, fundamentally, “we should not see our babies, children, and teenagers as chores to feed and clean or otherwise fix but as people from the start, people we are going to have lifelong relationships with”. In an engaging and warm tone, Perry offers thoughtful and accessible advice useful not only for parents, but for grandparents, aunts and uncles, and even adult children as well. Over and over, she directs many of the common complaints and conflicts of adult-and-child interactions to the root cause of considering the underlying relationship.

It’s hard to look at a newborn and imagine that in very little time at all, that diapered bundle of cries will turn into an adult. But the more deliberately the adults around that child consider their relationships with the child (especially in times of conflict, but also when laying the groundwork to avoid conflict), the better the outlook for how both individuals and the relationship between them will mature.

This is a book with insights containing value for anyone – even a childless orphan of advanced years, unless perhaps that individual is cloistered away from all human contact. But everyone else can gain at least some useful insight into relationships between generations, whether for current relationships or for understanding past ones. Perry reminds the reader that, even though we are all imperfect, parents (and other adults) don’t have to strive to perfect the children in their orbits, because “[Y]ou are creating a person to love, not a work of art”. The book’s title may be over-the-top, but its advice is exceedingly well-grounded.
61 people found this helpful
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Kelly
4.0 out of 5 stars Overall good
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2023
Verified Purchase
Alot of it is common knowledge when you work with kids,have kids , been around kids but it can be hard to put into action. The pregnancy chapter I recommend the most. So helpful . All in all a good read .
7 people found this helpful
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Dulce Graciano
5.0 out of 5 stars From an explosive mom
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2024
Verified Purchase
From the bottom of my heart I can’t recommend this book enough specially because I come from a emotional abuse family and now that I am a mom a lot of trauma came to the surface and this book made me realize that and I was able to look for help.
5 people found this helpful
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DMCA
5.0 out of 5 stars "WARNING": Miss this book at your own risk
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2023
Verified Purchase
This has been the best book in parenting I've read in the last few years. What makes it unique is that through a series of initial readings and reflections, it grounds you to understanding whom you are as a parent (+why) and how to best move forward from there.

It made me realize a couple of things I most probably wouldn't have w/o reading this book. It is very practical and has a lot of deep rooted/backed knowledge. In addition, it is an easy read (English is my 2nd language).

I would dare say that it encourages to maximally exploit the pratice of empathy, and how to nurture emotionally healthy connections with your children. I highly recommend it!
13 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The Wisdom I needed
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2024
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I’m a stay at home mom. I started as a parent reluctant and resentful for giving up their independence and interests to being a joyful and loving play partner for my beautiful son. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by the vomit, the tantrums, and the physical exhaustion. This book provided the guidance I needed in those most challenging moments, when physical and emotional pain are high. Thank you. This book revealed the deeper purpose of all we do as a parent. And helped me learn how to nurture all relationships in general.
8 people found this helpful
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TS500
3.0 out of 5 stars Very Opinionated
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2024
Verified Purchase
A lot of information given is opinion related and not factual. It is a few good fact based research info shares but a lot of it was “in my opinion” or “I wouldn’t”
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Top reviews from other countries

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Micah
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in Canada on February 1, 2024
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It’s a good book
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Mayalen Verastegui
5.0 out of 5 stars Lo Máximo
Reviewed in Mexico on August 29, 2023
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Todos compren y lean este libro ya!
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Amit
5.0 out of 5 stars must read for a new patent
Reviewed in India on April 9, 2024
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Some of the concepts are eye openers. I adjusted my parenting style reading this book and it gave lovely results.
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merchant
5.0 out of 5 stars Life changing...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 25, 2024
Verified Purchase
it’s so simple and yet feels like most people do not understand how relationships work, especially with their children, probably because they have never been brought up in a secure and loving relationship.
The book is eye-opening, very practical, and deeply affected me as a parent, a child, and a human. Highly recommended. This should be standard literature in high school or for becoming parents.
If you feel like you have difficult and misbehaving children, start by looking at your behaviour towards your child through the eyes of your child. The book has helped me to be a better parent immediately and the effect on my child’s behaviour is instantly noticeable as our bond improves. I am glad I have invested the time in listening to this well-read audio book and can’t recommend it any higher to others as well.
10 people found this helpful
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Chospo
2.0 out of 5 stars Noioso e scontato
Reviewed in Italy on January 5, 2024
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Una serie di luoghi comuni, niente di nuovo.
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