The Power of Unconditional Love: 21 Guidelines for Beginning, Improving and Changing Your Most Meaningful Relationships

by Ken Keyes Jr., Penny Keyes

Explains the emotional advantages of offering love with no conditions attached, and gives advice on handling problems with a loved one

Genres: Love

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Laythan Oweis · Rating 1 out of 5]

ima say i read this book but in reality i read 2/3. this book is trash. it was a terrible book. i couldn’t finish reading. i disagreed with so many points and the stuff i did agree on are some of the most basic pieces of advice to help a relationship. so many arguments were baseless and absurd. a commonly featured one asserts that you should carry no demands, only preferences. demands harbor the eventual anger and frustration that will come if they are not met, while if you simply prefer something then you won’t have that same level of emotional tenacity if disappointed. maintaining the idea that carrying demands hinders the cultivation of a peaceful, uplifting relationship with your partner is a gateway to getting emotionally abused. this works great if both partners are understanding and loving to one another but this is not how the world always works. the author advocates for an eventual power imbalance between yourself and your partner, your partner being the one in power. why do i feel the need to put effort into a goodreads review of all things? because this man recommends to basically be exactly who i was in my last relationship. by fostering the smallest amount of reasonable demands to maintain peace and order, you actively display a lack of self worth and allow others to take advantage of you and present no repercussions to deter this action. you clearly don’t know your value and don’t know what you deserve in a relationship. figure that out first and have some self-respect. don’t allow others to dictate what you deserve.

this stoic-embellished perspective is comically absurd and the book offered no valuable advice. waste of time.
forgive my typos.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good text for anyone dealing with the after effects of codependency or alcoholism on your later relationships. Its not terribly preachy, but it IS direct in its messages about how we act in relationships and how to work with those problems. (it also had some very sweet awwwww moments too)

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

sweet, informative. I took notes!!

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read this before, but was due for a tune up. The delivery is a bit “meh” for me and when he gives advice and follows it up with “good luck!”, I already feel defeated. Lol. But on the whole this book gives some sound perspective on practicing unconditional love for the ones who matter most. I’m into that. People are different than their programming, and “…one of the most socially helpful things I can do is to work on myself to love everyone unconditionally—including myself.”… those were my big take aways.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

not my cup of tea. comes from.a completely different perspective than I live

[Jenny T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that the Lord used to speak through me to a drunk man on the commuter train, and changed both his and my life. As I read this, a man holding a paper bag who was clearly in need of help sat beside me. Normally, I would ignore. I don't talk to people. But this time, I turned to him and told him everyone was worthy of love, even him. He started crying and told me I was an angel, as he left his bag of booze on the train and left in tears. I still don't understand how it happened. The main takeaway from this reading is that preferences, rather than demands, allow us to love others unconditionally. Expectations are part of our addictive programming. We need to choose what we have and live on purpose, in the now. We can accept what is and worth with it rather than against it.

[Linda Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book to re-read now and then