32 books
—
2 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Homecoming: Reclaiming and Healing Your Inner Child” as Want to Read:
Homecoming: Reclaiming and Healing Your Inner Child
by
Using a wealth of practical techniques, informative case histories and unique questionnaires, John Bradshaw demonstrates how your wounded inner child may be causing you pain. You'll learn to gradually, safely, go back to reclaim and nurture that inner child - and literally help yourself grow up again. Homecoming shows you how to:
Validate your inner child through meditation ...more
Validate your inner child through meditation ...more
Get A Copy
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
February 1st 1992
by Bantam
(first published July 1st 1990)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Homecoming,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about Homecoming
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Homecoming: Reclaiming and Healing Your Inner Child
Despite its popularity, I didn't like this book. I didn't finish it because I really didn't like it. The style of writing is too airy-fairy, lots of nice sounding fluffy words but lacking any real substance. Plus his arguments are not solid and he contradicts himself a lot.
Example of what I consider a strange sentence: "The feeling of unified wholeness and completeness is the true meaning of perfection ..."
Is it?? It that really the definition of "perfection"? If someone walked up to me and as ...more
Example of what I consider a strange sentence: "The feeling of unified wholeness and completeness is the true meaning of perfection ..."
Is it?? It that really the definition of "perfection"? If someone walked up to me and as ...more
this book changed my life. i recommend it to everyone who lived at the mercy of distressed adults (even for the proverbial minute), and/or who grew up uncomfortable, embarrassed, ashamed and distressed themselves. plus, if you have, or ever had, an addiction or other compulsion (like perfectionism), this is hard-hitting like a velvet hammer and a cuddle hybrid. it just might just take you home.
I went to a "Healing the Shame That Binds You" presentation by John Bradshaw back in the early seventies. He spoke to a crowd of just over a thousand people and at times when he was sharing stories of his personal shame scenerios you could literally hear a pin drop. This guy knows how to shed light on those dark painful areas that we hold inside. Reading his books and watching the series he had on PBS years ago changed my life for the better! Thank You John Bradshaw!
...more
I had mixed reactions to this book. On the one hand, the basic concept (how childhood wounds escalate into adult problems) is incredibly important. However, this book is a product of its time. Among other things, Bradshaw posits that repression causes cancer, and preaches Freud’s theory of psychosexual stages (oral, anal, etc.) which is no longer practiced or taken seriously in psychology. Additionally, many people won’t enjoy the implicit gender role stereotypes that abound in this book. Howeve
...more
This book has some very fascinating information, if you can suspend your cynicism long enough to get into it. I greatly enjoyed reading the first half and felt like the author knew my exact situation because of the scarily accurate "diagnosis" he gave. But once I got to the exercises, I lost interest. I'd like to know how to heal my inner child without having to do weird meditations, thank you. Actually, I'm not sure I believe in the whole concept of an inner child, I thought it was kind of hoke
...more
This book is very near and dear to me as it was the 1st book I read at 18 after giving birth and beginning my journey of healing and self-discovery.
This book is short, and really hits home, hard. I want more of it. I will need to go back to it and the exercises again and again, and hopefully develop a better relationship with my inner child.
This book wasn't helpful for me but I have a friend is growing a lot from her work with this book.
...more
THE best book I have come across for inner child work. Absolutely life changing
I usually hate self-help books, but my therapist recommended this book to me to help me cope with ongoing issues of being the adult child of both an alcoholic and an enabler. I do not exaggerate when I say this book changed my life. The exercises the book has take you step-by-step through different stages of your life in order to re-parent yourself. I have never so deeply analyzed my habits and deep seated ways of thinking. I sobbed, I mourned, and I walked out a more powerful version of myself.
...more
I cannot think of a person who would not benefit from reading this book or starting this journey. It will be a long long road for some, but this is life-changing.
Learning about the inner child was kind of a slap on the face, because I felt that after all these years, I still don't know most of what makes me Me! How could that be!
You might have gone through a normal, balanced, and happy childhood, like I did (Thank God), but you will still be surprised of all the things you will learn about yours ...more
Learning about the inner child was kind of a slap on the face, because I felt that after all these years, I still don't know most of what makes me Me! How could that be!
You might have gone through a normal, balanced, and happy childhood, like I did (Thank God), but you will still be surprised of all the things you will learn about yours ...more
Didn't read the book but watched the 10-hour long 10-part series that aired on PBS several years ago, which was the basis of this book.
Totally recommend it to anyone and everyone.
Probably better than the book because the series showed clips of actual sessions and meditation sound tracks to actually do the exercises -- which I am not sure but I guess would probably be missing from the book. Reading his other book on family system, and definitely the format of the TV series is much better than the ...more
Totally recommend it to anyone and everyone.
Probably better than the book because the series showed clips of actual sessions and meditation sound tracks to actually do the exercises -- which I am not sure but I guess would probably be missing from the book. Reading his other book on family system, and definitely the format of the TV series is much better than the ...more
Interesting stuff.
Many chapters I learned a ton from (part 1 and chapter 10), however, there were a lot of chapters that were far too drawn out.
Being raped as a child, I needed more than therapy, this book gave me many tools and strength. I understand myself better and am moving forward. This book was a gift from a friend, what a wonderful friend I have.
A personal triumph to have started, to have persevered through the difficult tasks presented throughout this text and to have eventually finished it. I am proud of myself - words I’ve had trouble saying in the past.
This books is something which benefits from reading in a group, with a reading partner, or under the guidance of a therapist. In my case a combo of the above.
It took me nearly five years to read this book...to do the hard work. It takes time and patience with yourself to really heal ...more
This books is something which benefits from reading in a group, with a reading partner, or under the guidance of a therapist. In my case a combo of the above.
It took me nearly five years to read this book...to do the hard work. It takes time and patience with yourself to really heal ...more
If you are a psychology student or practitioner of psychology, you will recognize the theorists and their various ideas mentioned throughout the book. I could tell it was written a while back but the notion of an inner child still rings true for me today.
So much of this is relevant to my life as I had to grow up very quickly due to my mother leaving my father and I when I was a young teenager.
I am revisiting all of these beliefs and concepts as I am going through what can only be referred to a ...more
So much of this is relevant to my life as I had to grow up very quickly due to my mother leaving my father and I when I was a young teenager.
I am revisiting all of these beliefs and concepts as I am going through what can only be referred to a ...more
I was a little distraught reading the first chapter of this book. The phrasing of things were making me feel, not very empowered. Granted, the subject matter should probably warrant that. The first chapter explains the types of "inner child" issues people have. There's a quiz at the end of the first chapter that tells you if the book is right for you or not. I do appreciate that the book has it's own filtering mechanism in the first chapter to tell you to read the rest or not. I ended up being f
...more
I am still reading this book, but needed to make a comment on how timeless this advice really is, especially during this technologically driven time. I had been looking for help in how to get unstuck in my life. I was also struggling with finding the right answers within myself on a variety of topics. This book so far has helped me in so many ways. While I am dreading finishing this book, I can't wait to see how this important book ends. A must read if you are a parent, a child, parent to be, or
...more
I loved this book for its perspective on working through our past and especially for how to parent in healthy ways for our children. It has some great exercises/application, and gives great context and support for how to practice self-compassion and why that self-compassion is so important. As a parenting book, it really strengthened me in my dedication to helping my children feel safe and unconditionally loved while working through their feelings. If you’re looking for a book to support your pa
...more
Fantastic resource if you are wanting to do some deep "inner work." Delves into every aspect of your "inner child'S" experience which at times can overwhelm. Had to put the book down for a few months to take a break and found myself doing mini breaks along the way. Worth it by the end. May not have bought into every exercise, but the vast majority of this book was extremely helpful and impactful. Would recommend to highly motivated people willing to delve into their childhood experiences.
...more
Oh my. What a book. It is like tens of thousands of pounds worth of one-on-one with a psychiatrist.
You go so deep. The work you put in continues working and you find yourself pausing to process and heal during the journey. The meditations you record yourself and they are so profound and powerful that you feel your cells rearranging. Incredible investment for self-care and healing. Wow.
You go so deep. The work you put in continues working and you find yourself pausing to process and heal during the journey. The meditations you record yourself and they are so profound and powerful that you feel your cells rearranging. Incredible investment for self-care and healing. Wow.
Recommended to me by my therapist. This book is helpful with identifying why some of my behaviours / feelings are the way they are and how to continue to grow and master myself. Some exercises really resonated with me and some didn't. I will likely listen to it again and see if I get new takeaways from it.
...more
This is an excellent way to work through the process of healing and reclaiming your 'inner child." It's great to do this individually or with a therapist. Gets into deeper psychological healing for trauma/neglect at all developmental stages.
...more
DNF at 85%.
I tried so hard to finish this book, but it just didn’t hold my interest. There’s some good stuff (I highlighted several passages to refer back to), but the rest is very repetitive and hokey.
I tried so hard to finish this book, but it just didn’t hold my interest. There’s some good stuff (I highlighted several passages to refer back to), but the rest is very repetitive and hokey.
There were parts that were difficult to get through, due to culture barriers. [religion above all] But overall, a good book, and very necessary to even begin healing from the long hell I endured. Godspeed, sir, and thank you.
There are places in the heart which do not yet exist; pain must be in order that they be.
--
Iekšējā bērna dziedināšana.
--
Iekšējā bērna dziedināšana.
If you have ever struggled with feeling like you are a fundamentally broken person, even though you have no big trauma in your history, the ideas in this book might finally give you some clarity. Just don't get those ideas from this actual book. Go read about these ideas somewhere else, or even watch YouTube videos about them (I first heard about this book from Patrick Teahan on YouTube, and I recommend watching his videos).
Although the core ideas of this book have the potential to change lives, ...more
Although the core ideas of this book have the potential to change lives, ...more
I stumbled upon the idea of "inner child" work as part of therapeutic practices, where insight into current problems and patterns in life can come from examining behaviors and patterns learned (explicitly or implicitly) long ago, often during childhood. One way to examine these conditioned behaviors is to turn our usual skills of social relating inward, and relate to our memories and felt experiences of childhood as we would a literal child.
Bradshaw skillfully navigates the reader through a seq ...more
Bradshaw skillfully navigates the reader through a seq ...more
The audiocassette has been transferred to Audible and presents in enlightening deep-dive into our early years from birth to early school to help us try to figure out where our negative conditioning comes from. This could be around money, love, business, etc, but these formational beliefs we pick up and become conditioned by often limit our potential, even if some were "given" to us out of love.
The audio mixes presentation and insight with meditation (regression) exercises to help you figure out ...more
The audio mixes presentation and insight with meditation (regression) exercises to help you figure out ...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers also enjoyed
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
John Bradshaw has been called "America's leading personal growth expert." The author of five New York Times bestsellers, Bradshaw On: The Family, Healing the Shame That Binds You, Homecoming, Creating Love, and Family Secrets. He created and hosted four nationally broadcast PBS television series based on his bes ...more
John Bradshaw has been called "America's leading personal growth expert." The author of five New York Times bestsellers, Bradshaw On: The Family, Healing the Shame That Binds You, Homecoming, Creating Love, and Family Secrets. He created and hosted four nationally broadcast PBS television series based on his bes ...more
News & Interviews
Some people love books. Some people fall in love. And some people fall in love with books about falling in love. Every month our team...
19 likes · 2 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“all misbehaving children are dis-couraged. Having lost heart, they believe they must manipulate in order to get their needs met.”
—
4 likes
“Sam Keen points out that Zen masters spend years to reach an enlightenment that every natural child already knows—the total incarnation of sleeping when you’re tired and eating when you’re hungry. What irony that this state of Zen-like bliss is programmatically and systematically destroyed.”
—
4 likes
More quotes…
