The People-Pleasing Bitch: How to Stop Abandoning Yourself to Keep Everyone Else Happy

by Gwen Taylor

Feel like you've spent so much time taking care of everyone else that you've slowly disappeared from your own life?

The People-Pleasing Bitch is a straightforward, relatable guide for women who are exhausted from constantly saying yes, avoiding conflict, and putting everyone else's needs ahead of their own. If you're stuck in people-pleasing, guilt, overthinking, approval-seeking, and difficulty setting boundaries, this book helps you understand why self-abandonment happens and how to stop leaving yourself out of your own life.

This isn't about becoming selfish.
It's about learning how to care deeply about others without abandoning yourself in the process.

If you've spent years worrying about disappointing people, overexplaining your decisions, or feeling responsible for everyone else's emotions, this honest, practical guide gives you clear tools to break the habit of self-abandonment—without becoming someone you're not.

Inside you'll learn how to:
• Recognize the hidden patterns of people-pleasing and self-abandonment
• Stop feeling responsible for other people's emotions and reactions
• Set healthy boundaries without drowning in guilt or overexplaining yourself
• Learn to disappoint people without feeling like you're doing something wrong
• Create a life that includes you while staying connected to the people you love

You'll also read real stories from women who stopped disappearing inside their relationships and started choosing themselves again—plus access to a free companion workbook to help you apply the tools.

If you say yes when you really want to say no...
If other people's disappointment feels like your responsibility...
If you're tired of leaving yourself out of your own life...

This book is for you.

Genres: Self Help

138 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 14, 2026

Reviews

[Shanii Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars ⭐⭐⭐

I thought this was a good book overall, and there are definitely some valuable things in it. I think a lot of women who struggle with people-pleasing will recognize themselves in the examples and conversations about guilt, boundaries, approval, and taking responsibility for everyone else’s feelings.

For me, though, the book became pretty repetitive. I found myself getting bored because many of the “Real Talk” stories followed a very similar pattern: someone realizes they have been people-pleasing, talks to a friend, and the friend asks exactly the right question that helps them see things differently.

I kept wanting to see more of the messier side of it. What happens when you finally set the boundary and the other person doesn't react well? What if your friend doesn't have the perfect question or answer? What do you do when standing up for yourself actually creates conflict?

I did like the practical side of the book, especially the downloadable workbook/guide mentioned through the QR code. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the download to work.

Overall, I don't think it was a bad book at all. I just felt there was a lot of repetition and I wanted more depth and real-life situations that don't wrap up quite so neatly. I think readers who are just beginning to recognize their own people-pleasing patterns may connect with it more than I did.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[sandhya jethva · Rating 3 out of 5]

" Did they need you ....or did they just need someone ?" this line from the book make sense with the life .How most of the time we want to be dependable , kind and someone people can count on . i found all the real examples are somewhat similar ,so was little irksome, otherwise it is one time read .you can give a try .

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

a quick, validating read that really made me think about how often we shrink ourselves just to keep everyone else comfortable. definitely repetitive at times, but still a lot of good reminders about boundaries, guilt, and choosing yourself more.