Melody Beattie

Melody Beattie (born 1948 in St. Paul, Minnesota)^[1] is the author of Codependent No More, published in 1987 by the Hazelden Foundation. The book was successful and influential within the self-help movement, selling over eight million copies and introducing the word codependent to the general public.^[2]

Following the success of Codependent No More, Beattie authored over a dozen other books, including Beyond Codependency and The Language of Letting Go. Her most recent book is Make Miracles in Forty Days: Turning What You Have into What You Want, published in 2010. Several of her books have been published in other languages.

Similar to the work of Bill W. and Alcoholics Anonymous five decades earlier, Beattie's early work synthesizes psychoanalytic theory (especially object relations and the work of Heinz Kohut, Wilfrid Bion, and Otto Kernberg) into language people can easily grasp and use. In Codependent No More, Beattie also functioned as a popularizer of science, especially the work of psychiatrist Timmen Cermak, author of Diagnosing and Treating Co-Dependence.

Beattie's work contributed to the general emergence within American society of the idea that addiction to a person (who was addicted to a substance or a behavioral process) was a possibility.

Beattie's early works also served as the first the Big Book for a 12-Step program called Co-Dependents Anonymous. Although "CoDA" now has a conference-approved (official) '"the Big Book" of its own, Beattie's works continue to be central texts in some CoDA meetings.^[3]

In 1991, Beattie and her daughter, Nichole, were devastated by the death of 12-year-old son Shane, who died in a fatal skiing accident.

Works

Books

• Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself (Hazelden, 1986) ISBN 978-0-89486-402-5
• Beyond Codependency: And Getting Better All the Time (Hazelden, 1989) ISBN 978-0-89486-583-1
• Codependent's Guide to the Twelve Steps: How to Find the Right Program for You and Apply each of the Twelve Steps to Your Own Issues (Simon & Schuster, 1990) ISBN 978-0-671-76227-8
• The Language of Letting Go: Daily Meditations on Codependency (Hazelden, 1990) ISBN 978-0-89486-637-1
• A Reason To Live (Tyndale House Pub, 1991) ISBN 978-0-8423-0988-2
• The Lessons of Love: Rediscovering Our Passion for Life When It All Seems Too Hard to Take (Harper Collins, 1994) ISBN 978-0-06-251078-5
• Journey to the Heart: Daily Meditations On The Path To Freeing Your Soul (Harper Collins, 1996) ISBN 978-0-06-251121-8
• Stop Being Mean to Yourself: A Story About Finding The True Meaning of Self-Love (Hazelden, 1998) ISBN 978-1-56838-286-9
• Finding Your Way Home: A Soul Survival Kit (HarperOne, 1998) ISBN 978-0-06-251118-8
• Playing It by Heart: Taking Care of Yourself No Matter What (Hazelden, 1999) ISBN 978-1-56838-338-5
• More Language of Letting Go: 366 New Daily Meditations (Hazelden, 2000) ISBN 978-1-56838-558-7
• Choices: Taking Control of Your Life and Making It Matter (HarperOne, 2002) ISBN 978-0-06-008829-3
• 52 Weeks of Conscious Contact: Meditations for Connecting with God, Self, and Others (Hazelden, 2003) ISBN 978-1-56838-880-9
• The Language of Letting Go Journal: A Meditation Book and Journal for Daily Reflection (Hazelden, 2003) ISBN 978-1-56838-984-4
• The Grief Club: The Secret to Getting Through All Kinds of Change (Hazelden, 2006) ISBN 978-1-59285-349-6
• Gratitude: Inspirations by Melody Beattie (Hazelden, 2007) ISBN 978-1-59285-408-0
• The New Codependency: Help and Guidance for Today's Generation (Simon & Schuster, 2008) ISBN 978-1-4391-0192-6
• Make Miracles in Forty Days: Turning What You Have into What You Want (Simon & Schuster, 2010) ISBN 978-1-4391-0215-2

DVD

• Caring for Ourselves: Hope For Healthy Relationships (Hazelden, 1989) ISBN 978-1-59285-456-1

References

1. ↑ Beattie's official website
2. ↑ Taking Care of Herself - TIME
3. ↑ Co-dependent no more celebrates 20th anniversary. | Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly (, 2007)

1. Time – Taking Care of Herself – Monday, Dec 10, 1990.
2. Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly Publication Date: 29-JAN-07.
3. Haaken, Janice (1993). "From Al-Anon to ACOA: Codependence and the Reconstruction of Caregiving". Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 18: 321-345. ISSN 0097-9740. wow

External links

• Melody Beattie's Official Site
• Author bio on Hazelden Publishing and Educational Services
• The Official Website of Co-Dependents Anonymous