When to Walk Away: Finding Freedom from Toxic People Paperback – 8 Oct. 2019

Gary Thomas has hit the nail on the head with his new book: When to Walk Away – finding freedom from toxic people. The book is steeped in Scripture, full of practical examples and a much needed resource. In Gary Thomas’ own words: "The entire book hinges on studying the life of Jesus, who walked away from others (or let others walk away from him) many times. Understanding his methods of playing defense will inform how we preserve our call to love and serve (playing offense)."I was tempted to skip ahead to the chapters that I felt applied most to my personal situation but… I resisted the urge! I am glad I waited as all the conclusions (the chapter in question) arrives at, are set up in the previous chapters. It is important to read the chapters in their context! It was good to see how Gary Thomas explains the difference between a difficult person and a toxic one and he examines why it is OK to walk away from people who are toxic. He also adds a very helpful chapter on what to do when you yourself have become a toxic person.I loved the real-life examples and ‘Takeaways’ at the end of each chapter. I have a Kindle version and ordered a hard copy version of this book and I know will revisit this book again and again (with highlighters and pens in hand!)

This book was really helpful in understanding people and relationships that are not helpful. I could see that we can walk away from abuse and not feel guilty about it as a Christian. We are to forgive but we are not doormats and if someone is not repentant then the bible instructs us to walk away and leave them to it if they continue in their bad behaviour towards us.Would recommend this book to anyone suffering from toxic relationships that think they feel guilty about leaving and to those who encourage and teach others to put up with abuse for the sake of love.

So, it would be easy to just say - "Stay away from everyone who makes your life difficult". But, this book is written from experience and with care. "Toxic" is defined well and a desire to hold out a helping hand is maintained wherever possible. The emphasis is on not being derailed from fulfilling your ministry calling by those who would unfruitfully monopolise your time. I don't think it is ever easy to work that out with real life people whoa re such a mix of good and bad intensions but this book is helpful for those who want to sensibly think through those issues.

This book is amazing, so glad I got it.

This book was very healing for me. For years I have been married to a narcissist but succumbed to emotional and psychological of the behaviour.As a Christian not knowing whether to leave .This book spoke about the toxicity that revealed to me of how to overcome it.A great book.Invaluable as marriage toolkit.

Really enjoyed it. Lots of things to think about and to consider for our own lives too. Well written. A book to come back to it in the future.

When to Walk Away.I was very nervous about this book as I didn’t like the ideaOf people being classed as toxic, bad for me or not worthmy time. Gary gave sound biblical reasoning and wiseadvice about when its essential to focus on your God giventask and when to endure and persevere with relationshipswhich are not toxic but just difficult. He was clear about howJesus behaved with people and how he called them descriptivenames at times to warn others to use wisdom around them.I especially loved the careful way he spoke about toxicity withinmarriages. I think this book is one for mature Christian’s althoughmaybe useful if read as a group to avoid misrepresentation ofthe message. Meaty and helpful. Wise and fresh.

Every single sentence is about Christianity I wish it was clear when you bought it. I couldn’t even get through first chapter though I kept trying... I thought I was buying a book about toxic people not Jesus. I’m amazed there aren’t more people saying this in the comments.

This is the book you need, to get the permission you need, to walk away from those toxic relationships in your life. Because, if you're anything like me, you know you've asked yourself that countless times. Am I in the wrong? You turn it back around and get yourself convinced that they're not that bad and it must just be you. You doubt yourself and then end up stuck in that unhealthy cycle and you just keep going, deeper and deeper. Gary's book is well written, a tone of voice that is a caring, wise friend. He states right away that he isn't going to dive into titles or disorders, that's not what he's here for. He's here to help us figure out how to go about a toxic situation by looking to scripture for guidance. I can't imagine this book was easy to write, honestly it isn't easy to read (from an emotional standpoint) But it puts the focus right where it needs to be; Jesus, and us working to become like Him. I am so thankful to have found this resource. If you are struggling with toxic people and how to handle them, as a Christian, read this. It is sure to help you.

I was in a very toxic marriage for 21 years! Worked with toxic people at my workplace for 5 years! At the end I was a mess, physically mentally and spiritually! This book put me back on my track and gave me hope for building loving relationships!!! If I could give this book 120 stars I would! A+

I love reading this book !!! Has helped me a lot to understand when to walk away from Toxic people that will not repent nor change. I was a pleasing people, and this way have been suffering by maintaining wrong people around me that had brought me stress and anxiety. I learned how to defend and respect myself without being proud full. It is very important to have a right attitude towards everyone. This book helped me to understand my own weaknesses too.

Very much well written truth of life

If you have toxic people in your life or family, I highley reccommend this book. As a christian woman, a people pleaser trying to do the right thing with a toxic family member. I wanted to do things God's way. I knew I wanted to distance myself from my sister but felt guilt. I recieved this book today and could not put it down. Thank you Gray Thomas for writing this book and giving examples of Jesus handling toxic people. I wish I had this book 20 years ago.