Her genuine feminist insights--such as seeing potential benefits in mother-daughter conflict, and looking at the psychological effects of the birthing and mothering process on the mother as well as the child--are buried in too much verbiage about too many topics about which Phillips knows too little.

The book is, in fact, two books under one cover and the theme of self-help therapy runs through both. The author is sceptical about the value of counseling but a strong advocate of the power of individuals to be their own therapists.