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How to Hug a Porcupine

Easy Ways to Love the Difficult People in Your Life

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How to Hug a Porcupine

By: Sean Smith, Debbie Joffe Ellils
Narrated by: Julie Briskman
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About this listen

 AS SEEN ON TIKTOK: Discover 101 easy communication strategies for dealing with difficult people—at home, at work, and in your community!

Learn to calm the quills of difficult parents, children, colleagues, and even strangers.

Most of us know someone who always seems to cause problems or irritate others. The truth is these troublemakers haven’t necessarily asked to be this way. Sometimes we need to learn new approaches for dealing with the difficult people who are harder to get along with or love.

This concise guide explains that making peace with others isn’t as tough or as terrible as we think it is. In 101 useful tips, it shows you how to love and manage the “prickly” people in your life—whether you want to calm the quills of difficult parents, children, siblings, or even strangers.

Since going viral on TikTok, thousands of people have discovered the power of Dr. Debbie Joffe Ellis’ practices. With a forwored by Ellis herself, How to Hug a Porcupine is a modern classic that will help you resolve conflicts, communicate effectively, and lead life with greater patience, empathy, and kindness! Conflict Resolution Dysfunctional Relationships Love, Dating & Attraction Marriage & Long-Term Partnerships Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Relationships
All stars
Most relevant
Short but some good tips on this, they try to cover a lot in a d short timeframe

Theme

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This book puts a disproportionate amount of responsibility on those affected by the behaviour of difficult people to do the work to placate and accommodate the person being difficult. While a few of the tips seem useful and sensible, on the whole, the relationship dynamic proposed by the author seems dysfunctional and unreasonable to me.

A very imbalanced perspective

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I liked that it was a short reminder of applying realistic & mature views of yourself and others and reminders of healthy boundaries- but felt it was very much about not addressing change that could be necessary when others are porcupines and are not interested in seeing their own behaviours.
Too often books like this tell the person who’s already trying to keep trying & changing which is exhausting. There’s two sides to relationships.
But the reminder that we can all be porcupine like in behaviours and to keep a check on ourselves - is valuable.

It’s one sided in many ways

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Very easy to understand and enjoyable to listen to. I liked that it switched between men and women, so didn’t pinpoint one or the other out for the action

I liked the analogy

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The content and narrator is uninspiring, condescending and robotic. Would not recommend. Will be returning.

Why did you need a whole chapter about porcupines

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.