Why does talk in families frequently go in circles, leaving us tangled up in knots? Linguist Deborah Tannen shows why talking to family members is so often unpleasant and problematic — even though we’re all adults.

Searching for symptoms of acceptance and owed, we find signals of disapproval and rejection. Why perform the seed products of family love frequently produce a harvest of criticism and common sense? In I Only Say This Because I REALLY LIKE You, Tannen shows how important it really is, in family members talk, to understand to separate about I Only State This Because I Love You: Talking In Families word meanings, or messages, from heart meanings, or metamessages — unstated but effective meanings which come from the history of our human relationships and just how things are stated.

Presenting real conversations from people’s lives, Tannen explores what is actually happening in family talk, including how family conversations must cash the desiring connection with the desire for control, as we struggle to become close without giving up our freedom.

This eye-opening audiobook explains why grown women frequently feel criticized by their mothers — and just why mothers feel they can’t open their mouths around their grown daughters, why growing up male or female, or as a mature or younger sibling, results in different experiences of family that persist throughout our lives. BY assisting us to comprehend and redefine family talk, Tannen provides the tools to boost relationships with family of every age group.