Tangled Web of Words is a practical, eye-opening guide to understanding how power, control, and inequality can operate through everyday conversations in intimate relationships. Drawing on over twenty years of research, teaching, and counselling practice, Dr Torna Pitman introduces the concept of Conversational Control and shows how it underpins emotional abuse and coercive control.
Using clear explanations, real-world examples, and an original framework, this book helps readers recognise when conversations stop being fair, safe, or mutual—and why repeated “talking it through” so often fails. It gives language to experiences that are commonly felt but poorly understood, helping readers make sense of confusion, self-doubt, and chronic relational distress.
This book is for anyone trying to understand a current or past relationship, supporting someone else, or wanting to recognise early warning signs before deeper harm occurs. It is also widely used by practitioners, educators, and students seeking a clear, human-rights-based understanding of coercive control in everyday life.