I’m just getting started on this page, so please check back later for more links, pictures, quotes, books and ideas about holding, touch, and comforting.

Here’s a famous photo from the Korean war that says it all:

Great Readings on Unholding & Letting Go

• Language of Letting Go and Codependent No More by Melody Beattie
• Any literature from Al-Anon Family Groups (for families of alcoholics)
• How to Be Your Own Best Friend by Mildred Newman and Bernard Berkowitz

Great Readings on Saying “NO”

I have been a fan of the word “No” for a long time. In 1996, I wrote this poem about it,  which was published in Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul.

• When I Say No, I Feel Guilty, by Manuel J. Smith
• Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No, To Take Control of Your Life, by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
• Learning to Say No, by Carla Willis-Brandon
• Your Perfect Right: Assertiveness and Equality in Your Life and Relationships, by Robert E. Alberti and Michael L. Emmons