Books Take Your Life Back: How to Stop Letting the Past and Other People Control You Book by Arterburn M. Stephen and David A. Stoop

Take Your Life Back: How to Stop Letting the Past and Other People Control You by Stephen Arterburn and David A. Stoop is a self-help book that guides readers from living a "reactive" life, controlled by past wounds and external influences, to a "responsive" life characterized by freedom and purpose 1. It asserts that many individuals bury their true selves due to childhood experiences and societal pressures, leading them to live out of a "false self" that seeks approval from others 1.

The authors, utilizing personal examples, clinical insights, and spiritual principles, aim to help readers:

Overcome limiting habits and past issues to foster positive change 36.

Heal from past hurts, setbacks, and broken relationships 36.

Develop healthier boundaries with others 36.

Shift from overreacting to appropriately responding to situations 36.

Break cycles of harmful behavior in their relationships and personal lives 36.

Find freedom from controlling influences 36.

The book emphasizes that an individual's past and present circumstances do not have to define their future. It provides strategies to move towards "God-honoring responses" that enable a more fulfilling life 27. Arterburn and Stoop discuss how individuals can address their "woundedness" and gain freedom from abusive circumstances and controlling relationships 14. The book also has a companion workbook designed to help readers understand recurring issues and build a stronger relationship with themselves and others 5.

Stephen Arterburn is the founder of New Life Ministries, a large faith-based counseling and treatment ministry 27. His work often focuses on recovery and relationship issues, integrating spiritual truths with psychological insights 27.

1 BOOK