Are you your own greatest critic? Do you have low self-esteem? Have you ever thought that if people knew the real you, that they would think less of you? Does life feel an uphill struggle because nobody - not even you - is truly on your side? If any of this sounds familiar, it is time to take a fresh look at the most important relationship of all: your relationship with yourself.

In this thought-provoking book, marital therapist Andrew G Marshall looks at how to love yourself enough to make better relationships and how to stop zig-zagging between boosting yourself up (often to unsustainable heights) and becoming overly critical. He explains:

• - Why modern life is making it harder to have a balanced opinion of ourselves.
• - The types of thinking that sabotage and make life harder.
• - Why old pains can still cast a shadow today and how to make peace with your past.
• - How to develop a positive mind-set.
• - Increasing your self-confidence.

(Some of the exercises in this book have appeared in The Single Trap by Andrew G. Marshall, published by Bloomsbury)