I have always been very protective of my much younger sister, but it was not until I read this book that I realized how destructive my protection was. This is a slim volume--it took me only about 2 hours to read it--but it changed my life and my sister's.Two brief passages from the book sum up its content and purpose. The first is from page 7: "An enabler is one who prevents growth and learning in others by assuming their responsbilities. An enabler promotes weakness in others by protecting them from the consequences of their unproductive behavior." The second is from pages 28-29: "When people . . . are not required to alter their unproductive behavior because they are protected from its natural consequences, it is easy for them to become dependent. Their experience of the world is that the world will always accommodate them."