Emotional blackmail is a powerful form of manipulation in which people close to us threaten to punish us for not doing what they want. Emotional blackmailers know how much we value our relationship with them. They know our vulnerabilities and our deepest secrets. They are our mothers, partners, our bosses and colleagues, our friends and our lovers. And no matter how much they care about us, they use this intimate knowledge to give themselves the pay-off they want - our compliance. Susan Forward presents an anatomy of a relationship damaged by manipulation, and gives the reader an arsenal of tools to fight back, with strategies for blackmail targets, including checklists, practical scenarios and communication techniques that seek to strengthen relationships and break the blackmail cycle for good.