Letting Go of Anger: 2nd Edition

by Ronald T. Potter-Efron

This book identifies the eleven most common anger patterns and offers step-by-step help for overcoming them.

Genres: Self Help, Psychology, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Canon, Personal Development

370 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1995

Reviews

[Gabrielė Bužinskaitė · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Expectations are premeditated resentments.”

Ah, finally, a book on anger that answered my questions.

I couldn't understand how anger forms and what it signals. One never gets angry; another explodes at minor inconvenience. How different are their heads? Brain? Morals? Personality? Self-control?

There’s plenty different, yet plenty similar between them. Neither of the radical approaches is helpful—the “never-angry” may end up a sucker, and the “always-angry” may end up less welcome than a cockroach is welcome at home.

The anger varies, though. The author breaks it down into 11 types: sudden anger, shame or fear-based anger, deliberate anger and more. I found the classification to be as insightful as it was helpful.

However, it’s not as scientific and deep as I wish. The anger types and their explanations sound more opinionated than researched. So, although the book answered my questions enough for me to be satisfied, those answers are probably simplified. And whatever is simplified loses great bits of truth.

[Morgue Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this because there are a few people in my life that I care for deeply but have tempers, and I am not good with handling people around me being angry. I thought that if I understood anger on a deeper level then I would be better equipped to respond to it in others. I got this, but also realized that I know at least one person who practices each anger style, including myself. There was even a section about resentful anger that I realized was me several years ago. I think everyone should read this book, there's a lot of honesty here that I think the world as a whole could benefit from.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, so the beginning of the book gives like 8 or 12 or whatever different descriptions of anger types. you are supposed to take a "quiz" to find out which category you fall in. I fell in like 5 categories so i had to read the entire book. It was incredibly accurate about different types of anger styles and that was interesting to read. Does it help me control my anger? No. That isn't really the book's fault though.

[Tory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this awhile ago, but I remember this being a very easy breakdown of anger types and what to do about them. The author does note in every chapter the positive side to these anger styles and argues that anger does have a place and an appropriate manner of being expressed, in which he gives examples and advice on how to do so. It was helpful to read.

[Kirtida Gautam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the book as part of my self-study on anger. It was an okay-okay book. Most of the book was too general.

[Marisa Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for practicum. I really enjoyed it! It gave a great overview of anger and made me see it in new ways that I hadn’t thought about before. I found the involvement of higher power to be a bit out of place when it was brought in sometimes but that was done sparingly. Some strategies for anger were a little odd but I found overall the book had a lot of good ideas about how to deal with anger and explained well how it works.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

What you’d expect but not without its virtues.

[Vince · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers will find Letting Go of Anger is a practical text to work through and digest. The husband and wife author-team guide readers to inventory personal anger styles. From there, sections of the book help to identify causes, risks, and first-steps toward mitigation.

I feel the brief, readable case-studies mentioned throughout the text help to illustrate the taxonomy of anger, proposed by the authors. The title may promise a bit more than any book can deliver. But, I found the text handy and enlightening.

[Christian Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book on the advice of one of my many shrinks. It's a really good book that describes the different "anger styles" that are out there that one might be trying to deal with and then offers you tips and techniques for dealing with those styles. I'm not really into "self-help" books, but this really is quite useful and informative for anyone who is looking to understand themselves a bit better.

[PsychoSchematics · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for definitions and examples, a good book. If you are looking for deep insight and personal work, 3 stars.

Three main categories broken down to sub categories.


Masked Anger:
Anger Avoidance
Sneaky Anger
Anger Turned Inward

Explosive Anger:
Sudden Anger 
Shame Based Anger
Deliberate Anger
Excitatory Anger

Chronic Anger, stew, can't let go:
Habitual Hostility
Fear Based Anger
Moral Anger B/W Thinking
Resentment / Hate

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an interesting look at anger and how it works both for and against people. Gave me a lot of things to think about and work with. A good point to start for people on looking at the ways they deal with their anger and how anger has it's uses.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whew! I don't know if I'm supposed to match all eleventy anger styles but I do!! Yikes!

I told my supervisor I was turning over a new leaf; no more tantrums; she asked if I was going to be dead....

Guess I do need to work on this. :#

[Jocelyn Paige Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A practical and insightful book about anger styles. Each anger style is broken down with some advice on how to better manage that style, but it's strength is in explaining and detailing the negative impacts on a person when they don't manage their anger style(s).

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides an interesting and to the point description of different anger styles. Although accurate, I found it to be too brief and lacking depth. I would regard it more as a teaser for the field of anger psychology.

[Stacy Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good book about how to manage and discover what anger type you have. I found out a lot of things that I'm going to work and personally and I think it is a good tool to help others that think they might have problems as well.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

My therapist recommended this book to me. I identify with a lot of the different anger styles outlined. This book is easy to read and fast to get through, and has been a big help to me.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheer brilliance. So much concrete stuff in here that my brain is still ringing. Loved it. I really understand a lot more now about where my "well of anger" comes from.

[Asia Maiden]

excellent and helpful!

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book for my anger class and found it very eye opening and helpful.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful. Really cuts to the core about identifying what makes us angry in a raw, to the point way.

[Deb DA Gerrald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introductory book on anger and how it might manifest in a person’s life. It’s been updated to 11 anger styles, most recently. I knew more about this topic from research and reading about Complex PTSD (CPTSD), and I benefited from deeper reading specific to shame-based anger as a result. That said, this is an easy to understand and digest overview with some exercises and thought-provoking questions. Anyone intent on improving (decreasing) the control that anger can play in a life will likely need to pursue additional resources once this book is finished.

[Sreejith Boban · Rating 5 out of 5]

I myself being a hot head thought of reading this hoping it would help me. And yes it definitely did. I found out my anger styles. I could totally relate myself to the book. Felt that I wasn’t the only who felt these feelings and type of anger. I’ll definitely make a review video of it on my channel.

[Keith]

This is a great place to discover your particular anger style. It is a bit limited on the intervention side, but will get you started.

[Elisareads · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really easy to read and gave great insight into the different styles of anger. I liked that it was all bitesized and relatable

[Dominic Carlin]

Lots of food for thought. Surprised by just how much I found relateable, beyond what I'd already recognised and explored.

[Nicholas Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

An operator's manual for humans

Helped us understand and fix some long- term personal and relationship problems. So clearly written and actionable. So grateful we found this book.

[The_J · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like slice and dice anger, but dissection in this instance, doesn't seem to bring any great new insights, so perhaps digging into the entrails of Anger isn't the best augury after all.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of self-help books, but this one is genuinely helpful. It provides a lot of useful information and examples.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very informative book. I have more anger than I thought I did. =)