Kirkus Reviews QR Code
ATTITUDE RECONSTRUCTION by Jude Bijou

ATTITUDE RECONSTRUCTION

A Blueprint for Building a Better Life

by Jude Bijou

Pub Date: Nov. 1st, 2011
ISBN: 978-0983528777
Publisher: Riviera Press

Marriage and family therapist Bijou demonstrates how to turn fear, anger and sadness into peace, love and joy.

This isn’t a traditional self-help book; rather than studying every page and inspecting every chart, readers are asked to identify themselves within key areas and make their way through the sections that apply. In doing so, Bijou intends the reader to learn to listen to others, to express themselves without accusatory “you” speak and to accept people as they are. She provides guidelines for coping with feelings of fear, sadness and anger in a productive way, all without stifling the benefits that can be reaped from experiencing occasional bouts of negative emotions. Bijou coaches readers to expel negativity to make room for peace, joy and love, urging relief through words, new perceptions and physical actions (like punching phone books, crying or shivering). Much of the message here is what a reader with common sense will already know, such as breaking lofty goals into small steps and forgiving yourself if you’ve done something wrong. However, for additional motivation, Bijou lists the positive results that will occur if those negative emotions are dissolved and replaced by their opposites. The difference between this book and similar self-help titles is in Bijou’s familiar, conversational tone as she shepherds readers through negativity with easily-applicable solutions. User-friendly reference charts will help readers gain understanding of what they’re feeling and finding an appropriate method of addressing their issues.

With Bijou's engaging tone, readers will learn how to listen to their intuition to successfully navigate through the life they're meant to have.