Lust, Anger, Love: Understanding Sexual Addiction and the Road to Healthy Intimacy

by Maureen Canning

Sexual addiction is a problem that affects millions of people. Maureen Canning, LMFT, who has extensive experience treating sex addicts, explains its roots and how those afflicted can recover.
This book also explains the poisonous childhood seeds that lead to public scandals like the revelations involving former congressman Mark Foley.
Canning shows how compulsions are the product of early childhood abuse and how patterns, from the most violent to the most commonplace, develop. She explains that the overriding emotion sexually addicted people feel towards the partners with whom they seek intimacy is anger turned into sexuality, or "sexualized anger." This yields a false sense of security and power, an "aggressive tendency," which destroys any chance of a healthy relationship. Lust, Anger, Love offers a comprehensive and enlightening look at the origins of these little discussed behaviors and maps out a plan for recovery.

Genres: Psychology

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In feelings of lust we ask ourselves what can I get, in feelings of love we ask what can I give. But when people have been traumatized in childhood they may go sideways in their development and only lust while calling it love or "getting even". Can we have compassion for the prostitute, the sex offender and the "pervert"? Can these wounded souls heal their bodies and minds? These questions are answered in this fascinating account of sexual obsession, and sexualized anger.

[Alan Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapters 1-9 were the work, and Chapters 10-11 were the desert, that which yielded a message of recovery for any reader/addict (especially) or genuine co-addict.

I appreciated the author's personal experience of sex addiction and recovery, tangibly written and interspersed, but more I found principles of recovery detailed and offered from the amalgamated case histories and clearly presented a depth and breadth exactly as given in the title.

[Nash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and informative-profound especially at the end.

[unnarrator · Rating 1 out of 5]

"What I learned from this book" is that I am officially DONE with reading books about other people's addictions/problems. Go me! I found this boring, not so well written, and furthermore extremely boring.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, easy to read book with lots of clinical examples. Essential for anyone dealing with love/sex addiction in themselves or partner.

[Buck Wilde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting, in a useless kind of way

[mike hatcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good book to grasp the roots of the struggle.