4Many mothers blame themselves for their faltering and failed relationships with their grown daughters. And even more mothers believe that their strained relations are irreparable, and that friendship -- or even civility -- with their female offspring is impossible. Family therapist and clinical psychologist Dr. Charney Herst tells us it isn't so. In this important and empowering book, which has been featured on Oprah and Good Morning America and has sparked print coverage on the mother/daughter dynamic in papers like the los Angeles Times and The New York Daily News, Dr. Charney Herst teaches mothers to better understand their daughters and to recognize their strengths and weaknesses.

According to Dr. Herst, there are three kinds of difficult daughters. The Dependent Daughter is the one who won't leave the nest, who continually expects mom to pay for everything, the one who seems incapable of running her own life. The Dissatisfied Daughter is the chronically unhappy one who is independent but treats her mother as a dumping ground for grievances large and small. The Distant Daughter is the most heartbreaking of all, for these women have withdrawn, gradually or dramatically -- and sometimes completely -- from their mothers.

This book helps mothers untangle the web of personal history and intense emotion, and take the lead in repairing this all-important bond. It offers hope, not criticism.