The Joy of Saying No

A Simple Plan to Stop People Pleasing, Reclaim Boundaries, and Say Yes to the Life You Want

By: Natalie Lue

Narrated by: Natalie Lue

Read by the author.

Are you still playing a role you learned in childhood to please others, such as the Good Girl/Boy, the Overachiever, or the Helper? Though these kinds of roles may have gained us attention and affection, they prohibited us from becoming our true selves.

People-pleasing—putting others ahead of ourselves to avoid something negative or to get something we want or need—runs rampant in our society. Saying yes when we should say no leaves us stuck in frustrating patterns. And when we don’t say yes authentically, we say it resentfully, which leads to more problems than if we'd said no in the first place.

The Joy of Saying No will help you identify your people-pleasing style and habits. A six-step framework then teaches you how to discover the healing and transformative power of no to

• establish healthier boundaries,
• foster more intimate relationships and fulfilling experiences, and
• reconnect with your values and authentic self.

©2022 Natalie Lue (P)2022 Thomas Nelson

This Book Is As Good As Her Podcast If Not Better

I’m a long time listener of Natalie’s Podcast Baggage Reclaim. This book expanses on a lot if the things she’s covered over the years in her podcast. It also covers new territory as well. I’m a long time recovering people pleaser and this book has helped me identify the areas in my life where more work is needed. If you really want to work on yourself, listen to this book.

Well-written, with actionable steps and integrity.

I started following Natalie's podcast at some point last year (2022) and have found her productivity/life-balancing topics very helpful to me. I was very excited when she announced this book, especially considering its title and my tendency to not put myself first. I find this to be such an important topic and this book's content far exceeded my expectations. I think if anything, I am overwhelmed and feel that I did not digest it adequately and will be revisiting this book shortly (perhaps in hardcopy format). In hindsight, I should have tackled only one chapter a day in order to have had the proper time to reflect. This book can be frightening at times because it holds up a mirror and forces you to examine not only yourself, but all of your personal and professional relationships as well. There have been a lot of books written lately with big promises on the cover art, but no actionable steps within. This is not the case here, there are immediate surface level actions you can instantly adopt along with a wealth of deeper strategies to help us all live a more balanced and intentional life. Natalie, if you're reading this, I am so glad you narrated this book yourself (especially since I have spent so much time with your podcast).

A lesson we should have learned as children.

If you love Natalie’s podcast, you’ll for sure love the eight hours of Great Advice and A Plan To Go With It. Highly recommend to all readers and fans of self-help books.

Excellent book!

This book has taught me so much about myself. I have gained a deeper understanding of what I do, why I do it and most importantly, what to do about it. Thank you so much!

I am about halfway through this book...

I love the content. I typically love when authors read their own books because emphasis ends up in the correct place, but I would recommend people listen to a sample of this before purchasing. It might just be my preference, but I would have loved it if the author had gotten a professional narrator.

The content is excellent however, and I think it is worth a listen even if the narration is a little grating from time to time.

This book changed my life

If you’re on the fence about getting this book - buy it. Every chapter has so much wisdom. I found myself bookmarking so many sentences. By far one of the most empowering and insightful books I have read. I plan on listening to it over and over, as it’s advice holds true in so many different difficult life situations.