Genre: Memoir
Description:
“This is a story about a boy who wanted to be kind and loving but was
raised by wolves and monsters who taught him to choose violence and aggression.
As the boy grew to be a man, he wanted to be a protector of women but ended up
being what girls and women needed protection from. He lied, cheated, and
scammed his way through life until he couldn't.
This memoir is his moving account of discovering healthy masculinity
from the inside out. His journey has been sensational at times and unbelievable
at others, but for many readers, it has been absolutely inspiring. Will the
hungry wolves outlast the desire to be loving and beautiful? Can men truly
change?
There is hope in witnessing the depth and commitment of a person
willing to try to be better without knowing exactly how. This memoir captures
one man’s struggle to transcend his past and imagine an entirely new future for
himself premised on compassion, care, and advocacy.”
Author:
“Michael Swerdloff is an Ordained Minister of Natural Healing from The
Seminary Training Program and a Reiki Master. His work is Brief Holistic
Counseling/Coaching. Michael has received training from His Holiness the Dalai
Lama, The Gottman Institute, and other revered teachers and healers. He has
been a counselor, coach, social worker, community organizer, educator, writer,
and DJ for more than twenty-five years. Along with his private practice,
Michael is the Program Manager at Dance New England, a volunteer-centered
non-profit that hosts dance events that cultivate a vibrant multi-generational
community. Michael facilitates retreats in New England and globally. He lives
by the water in Rhode Island, which is not an island.”
Appraisal:
For a decent portion of this book, especially in the beginning, it’s
hard to see how Michael is going to end up a decent person. That’s in spite of
knowing from the book description that this is going to happen. To say he’s not
a good person in his younger years would be an extreme understatement. Issues
with misogyny, lots of criminal actions, and extreme drug use all figure into
the story. Needless to say, the change takes a long time and doesn’t happen all
at once.
Although he mentions in the introduction things he did to keep the
story shorter than it might have been, the result is still a book that is much
longer than you might expect (almost double the length of an average novel).
That length is the one tweak I’d like to see, but I suspect that the parts I’d
suggest might be cut are those that other will find the most inspirational, so
I see why it didn’t happen. I can see this as a good and inspirational read for
both men and women, but for different reasons.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
FYI:
Some adult language.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: *****
Five Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate word count: 150-155,000 words
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