Mend or Move on : A Guide to Healing or Leaving Toxic Relationships

A therapeutic guide to recognizing, releasing, and recovering from relationships that harm your mental and emotional health.

Winner of the International Book Award in the category of Self-Help: Relationships, awarded by American Book Fest, Winner of the Living Now Book Award in the Relationship/Marriage category

Relationships are meant to nourish us—but what happens when they cause harm instead? In Mend or Move On, licensed professional counselor and board-certified art therapist Kate King offers a bold, compassionate guide to breaking free from toxic dynamics and reclaiming a life rooted in self-respect and happiness.

King challenges the long-held belief that family loyalty and social harmony should come at the expense of personal well-being. This book is not about saving every connection—it's about knowing which relationships are worth healing, and which ones demand an honest goodbye. With insight, clarity, and empathy, King outlines the seven most common traps that keep people stuck in painful friendships, partnerships, family bonds, and professional dynamics. These include internalized guilt, unhealed trauma, codependency, and more. She guides readers through the difficult process of deciding whether to stay or walk away by outlining practical, psychology-informed tools that support both paths. Whether repairing a struggling bond or finding the strength to sever it, readers will gain strategies to navigate complex emotional territory with integrity.

Through cutting-edge research and powerful stories from her clients and her own life, King offers a safe space to explore questions of belonging, betrayal, boundaries, and healing. Her unique approach provides a holistic path forward that emphasizes creative expression, evidence-based concepts, and nervous system regulation. This guide invites readers to build relationships that are honest, kind, and respectful—and to walk away from those that are dysfunctional, abusive, and beyond repair.

Kate King, MA, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor, board-certified art therapist, and the award-winning author of The Radiant Life Project.