Passive Aggressive Manipulation: Recognize the Hidden Tactics, Reclaim Your Confidence, and Set Boundaries That Actually Work

by Dr. Marcus A. Ellington

162 pages, Paperback

Published March 13, 2026

Reviews

[Dvora Treisman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well written and could be very helpful. But it didn’t quite address what I was looking for. This book is aimed at people in closer relationships (marriage or close intimate relations, work relations, family), whereas I have a friend who is passive aggressive and I was looking to find their behavior and how I could best deal with it. This book didn’t really address that kind of lower level. Because the relationship isn’t as close as those dealt with in the book, the impact on me isn't as powerful and didn't fit most of the descriptions. The methods to deal with the problem for the most part also don't apply because the behavior I am encountering is much more subtle and less controlling because the relationship isn’t all that close. I wish Ellington had included this lower level of passive aggressiveness in his discussion. But I think for anyone who is suffering the effects of manipulation, as Ellington describes and as is fairly common, this would be a very helpful book.
The interior design is very poor, with too many headlines, too many levels of headlines that are hard to distinguish, too much spacing in between. Overall this breaks up the text and makes it difficult to read which is a shame because the information he is sharing is very interesting, useful, and written clearly.