Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
How to Hug a Porcupine  By  cover art

How to Hug a Porcupine

By: June Eding - editor, Debbie Joffe Ellis - foreword
Narrated by: Julie Briskman
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $11.25

Buy for $11.25

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Most of us know someone who, for whatever reason, always seems to cause problems, irritate others, or incite conflict. Often, these people are a part of our daily lives. The truth is that these trouble makers haven't necessarily asked to be this way.

Sometimes we need to learn new approaches to deal with people who are harder to get along with or love.

How to Hug a Porcupine: Easy Ways to Love Difficult People in Your Life, explains that making peace with others isn't as tough or terrible as we think it is - especially when you can use an adorable animal analogy and apply it to real-life problems.

How to Hug a Porcupine provides tips for calming the quills of parents, children, siblings, strangers, and other prickly people you may encounter. Among other tips, How to Hug a Porcupine includes:

  • Three easy ways to end an argument
  • How to spot the porcupine in others
  • How to spot the porcupine in ourselves

With a foreword by noted psychotherapist Dr. Debbie Ellis, widow of Dr. Albert Ellis, How to Hug a Porcupine is a truly special book.

©2017 June Eding (P)2017 Hatherleigh Press

What listeners say about How to Hug a Porcupine

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    53
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    22
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    16
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    49
  • 4 Stars
    19
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    14
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    45
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    21

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Subpar 

Teaches you how to walk on egg shells. This may have been more useful in the 1950s, it’s interesting when the author uses female/male pronouns within examples. This book breezes over so much but when it does get detailed, it is decent information.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Relatable

Good analogies; relatable and to the point; presented in a kind lighthearted way. Short and sweet and absorbable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Very nice advice and tips

I really liked the quotes and some helpful advice, but is mostly just over generalized and didn’t like hearing the importance of empathy repeated when there are so many toxic relationships and no mention of codependency, narcissistic partners/parents, dealing with trauma and attachment styles, etc.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • L
  • 03-19-23

Enabling and vague.

This book tells you to “try to be thick skinned.” It is vague and describes enabling behavior. It doesn’t give concrete advice, just general advice like “be patient” “don’t get upset” “know their cues.”

I didn’t enjoy this at all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book! I really like it

I love the books helped me to navigate better relationships and this one is a perfect guide to love, help and understand people who have been hurt, therefore now they act like “porcupines”

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Just…

So So 🤷🏽 and the price was a little high for length of book, not much content.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Save Yourself

There is nothing new in here. Basically summed with “suck it up, buttercup” or “bend over backwards, it’s all on you”.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Very basic obvious advice

Terrible “book”. Great title though. Not much substance. Information given is very obvious and redundant. Don’t bother buying this one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

A Guide to Enabling

This book should be called "How to Enable the Jerks in Your Life While Ignoring Your Own Feelings". There are few tips for actually dealing with anything it is more advice of do what makes your "porcupine" happy. At one point the author mentioned letting your porcupine do things that make them happy, so if you know they like to watch Sunday football undisturbed then stay away from the TV. Um....is this the 1950s? When there is actual advice, such as, when having a conversation stay calm no matter what, even if your porcupine makes you angry. Ok so we are just repressing our feelings? Don't wast your money or time on this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Not helpful at all. Don’t waste your money or time.

Enthusiastically recommending that I be nice and empathetic to a porcupine isn’t helpful at all. I stopped listening after 20 mins and would love a refund.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful