Who Deserves Your Love: How to Create Boundaries to Start, Strengthen, or End Any Relationship

by KC Davis LPC

Overview

This bold approach to relationships from celebrated therapist KC Davis will help you determine which relationships are right for you—and which are not—and what to do about them.

Is love conditional? What do you do about a relationship where someone’s best efforts are hurting you? When should you step away?

KC Davis, the renowned therapist who specializes in difficult relationships, asks and answers these questions. Just as she helps you design a functional home in How to Keep House While Drowning, here she applies the same bold but gentle approach to relationships so that they function, too. She helps you navigate decisions in every type of relationship, whether romantic or platonic. Recognizing that it isn’t always realistic to cut loose the people who rattle you, she explores how to protect yourself in those situations.

With radical honesty, KC explains:
-Why conflict can be intimate
-Why the small moments are big for healthy relationships
-How to handle vulnerabilities—yours and those of other people
-How to establish standards
-Steps to emotionally regulate in moments of struggle
-The Decision Tree that walks you through choices

Who Deserves Your Love is a gentle approach to hard relationships and is written in short bursts of text with visual tools such as lists and diagrams. The writing style is suited for those with ADHD, depression, or anyone who appreciates expertise without being overwhelmed by lengthy descriptions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781668056486
Publisher:	S&S/Simon Element
Publication date:	05/06/2025
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	116,613
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.38(h) x 0.58(d)

About the Author

KC Davis is the bestselling author of How to Keep House While Drowning. A licensed therapist, she is the creator of the popular Struggle Care website, Instagram, and the Domestic Blisters TikTok. KC has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Slate, Well + Good, Good Inside with Dr. Becky, Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris, among dozens of other media. KC Davis lives in Houston with her husband and daughters.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for KC Davis’s first book, How to Keep House While Drowning:

"Currently, I am reading KC Davis’s How to Keep House While Drowning, and I love it, so my wind-down routine is a little bit more successful these days because her book is so compelling.” –Dr. Becky Kennedy for The Cut

“How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing covers topics such as building momentum by cleaning in short bursts and calming rituals that can help you deal with feeling overwhelmed. Her solutions encourage people to let go of perfectionism and help those with mental or physical illness, or who are going through a hard time, have a healthier relationship with their homes.” –The Washington Post, Jura Koncius



“If keeping up with chores feels like a full-time job, licensed therapist and How to Keep House While Drowning author KC Davis has a subtle, but radical, approach to help you manage the demands of housekeeping... In fact, she says homes do not have to look like the cover of an interior design magazine to serve their function—so embrace the mess.”—Oprah Daily

“Davis encourages her followers to see their chores not as moral obligations but rather as care tasks they deserve. As you get started, she suggests asking yourself, ‘How can I make my home serve me better?’” —Los Angeles Times, Jacqueline Pinedo


“...Davis’s work is honest and funny. But most notably, it is kind...She handles conversations around relationships, mental health, addiction, food, and body image with care and vulnerability.” —Romper, Sarah Wheeler

“The funny hacks Davis has come up with along the way to make her own life work better—veggies in the fridge door, a rack for dirty dishes as well as clean, a family closet to cut down on trips to put away clean clothes—are not meant as prescriptions, but as inspiration.” —Slate, Rebecca Onion

"This is the kindest, gentlest guide to the Sisyphean tasks of cleaning, grooming and generally keeping oneself alive. Part pep talk, part guidebook, KC Davis’ tips are aloe vera for a burned-out brain."—NPR.org, Lauren Migaki

"An honest and compassionate exploration of the many traps that leave us feeling like we've failed, How to Keep House While Drowning is filled with hard-won advice that will change the way you view your space, your habits, and (most importantly) yourself." —Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy, authors of No Hard Feelings and Big Feelings

"How to Keep House While Drowning" acknowledges the less-frequently addressed challenges many people face that keep us from easily keeping up home care such as depression, ADHD, postpartum, or simply a lack of support. This short guide introduces six realistic principles from a professional counselor on how to approach home care without trying to conquer countless to-do lists.” —Business Insider

“We all struggle to balance the many demands on our time, energy and sanity from time to time. This short, easily-read volume has solid tips for coping... In the context of this book, making your housekeeping more manageable can enhance the functionality of your life.” –Jamie Gold, CKD, CAPS, MCCWC

“In her book, "How to Keep House While Drowning," Davis explains how to be gentle with yourself while also caring for yourself and your home in a way that works best for you. Her gentle approach to care tasks is what keeps people coming back. It’s the validation that we all need.” –Jacalyn Wetzel, Upworthy

From the Publisher