Some really interesting ideas about differentiation that I found helpful. It's true to my experience that building up my own self confidence has reduced social anxiety. However, I found the book lacking in contextualizing anxiety as a medical condition that is also treatable with medication. I also thought that some of the author's wordchoice was unexamined (ie use of addiction, use of maturity). As someone who has spent a lot of time on improving/coping/taking responsibility for my mental health (or lack thereof), this book resonates with me but suffers from a lack of structural analysis. I'd like to read more of Bowen directly to see if this vulnerability is attributed to his theory or to Smith's interpretation.