"Dr. Nielsen helped me jump
start the process of fixing my relationship with my dad after not talking
to him for years since my parents divorced. I
have gotten my father back in my life." "Before I read this book, I didn't think my dad & I had much to improve on. I was so wrong!" "Even at my age, the mere mention of my father used to bring me to tears. I envied other daughters. And I never expected to be shown a way to remedy this ache." "Even though my parents are in their sixties, my mother seemed jealous that I wanted to spend more time alone with my father. I finally found a way to handle this - and my father and I have become so much closer." "My father is in poor health. There were so many questions I wanted to ask him - especially about death. Finally I've learned how to relate to him - before it's too late - as someone other than a bald guy with his head always stuck in a book." "Because I have changed the way I interact with my father, I finally realize that we have both been wanting the same thing from our relationship all these years. We just never talked enough to figure that out." "Instead of getting frustrated like I used to when he would ask me questions about my life, I finally understand that he isn't trying to pry, to interfere, or to control me." "Even though I'm married, I was still hiding a lot about myself from my father because I wanted him to think of me as this perfect, innocent little girl. Now that I'm more honest, we're relating like two adults." "When my father asks me how I am, I have stopped saying "fine" when I'm not. I have quit assuming that he should magically know what's going on in my life unless I am more talkative and more open with him." "This book helped me dig deep within myself to understand and to accept the reasons why my father and I act the way we do. I'm more accepting now of my father - and of other fathers." "Talking to my dad about my mother's death had always been taboo until I followed the advice in this book." "Even though I've been in therapy for years,
I finally confronted the painful things I'd been avoiding about both my
parents because of Nielsen's questions and the issues she raised." "I am finally talking to my dad about personal things. I'm relating to him as someone other than an extension of my mother." "When I was asking dad the questions from
Nielsen's book, he was fighting to hold back tears. I actually reached
over to him and said it was okay to talk to me about his father. It was
a first - me reaching out to comfort my dad." " I finally shared my anger and sadness with my father. And I had a chance to apologize for some of the things I did to him when I was younger." "I used to think about my father only in terms of how his actions affected my life. I had never thought about my impact on him. Now I see him as a person with his own dreams & problems having nothing to do with me. " "I have stopped going through my mother to communicate with my father. He even told me how hurt has has always been that I wouldn't communicate directly with him."
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