The Examined Life: The Art of Knowing, Owning, and Giving Yourself

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Summary: Rational, practical, classical, funny philosophy of life.
Review: A Self-Help Book that's Working for Me. The book covers a lot of ground, it's dense, but it's readable.. There's a wonderful balance to it. You could say Helming's soft, that he's another relationship peddler: "be a faithful parent, spouse, or friend". Sounds soft. But, he wants you to be a passionate lover and he gives you tips on how to pull off passion and faithfulness. He gives you a cram course on prudence, fortitude, temperance and justice, words I only remembered from my youth. Chastity? I've never read a review of any book that addresses both the how and why of chastity. This one seems to reinvent chastity, marriage and what it means to be a father. Promise Keepers should make it their handbook.

The Examined Life has helped me get a grip on my work. Any job can throttle or brake self-destruction; it can ruin or build character. This book helped me think about that. And it has all sorts of other insights: motivating the kids' studies, helping with learning disabilities, solving identity crises, overcoming sexual addictions; finding the right Mr. Right; not only surviving but thriving in the middle of affluence, comfort, and freedom. A cousin of mine gave me The Road Less Traveled, which seems to be famous. I liked it. But The Examined Life is better, because it's grounded in philosophy and it's practical. The psychiatrist on the dust jacket says it's "a unique blend of classical wisdom and Yankee pragmatism." Rationalist that I am, I counted 179 pointers. But they aren't blah-blah exhortations, as with other self-help books. Helming grounds them in how humans are put together and how Socrates, Plato and Aristotle thought about the human condition. Even better, especially for those who question authority, the appeal is strictly to enlightened self-interest. I answer only to myself. Myself ... in the context of: I am a human who wants to be happy.

It's obvious I like The Examined Life a lot. My criticism is that I wish each of the 20 chapters had been expanded into a book. But, then again, it would cost a lot. As it is, The Examined Life is a terrific bargain for helping you think through love and life.

Rating:
Summary: Very useful book about a critical subject.
Review: Helming has his finger on the pulse of the biggest problem in America--the inverted focus on ourselves instead of on our greater identity in God. This book teaches the value of restrained sexuality but not in any preachy or sanctimonious way. A useful companion to be read in conjunction with O'Reilly's How to Manage Your DICK.

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Summary: The most dangerous thing a book can be - thought provoking!
Review: This is not so much a book to read as one to digest. Helming provides a succint but thorough treatement of man's search for happiness and consequential blunders. He then shows, or rathers reminds us, of the answers. As a teacher, I particularly enjoyed the chapters on study, work, and getting others right. Most helpful are the summary checklists at the end of the chapters. Here is a friend sharing answers with a friend; difficult answers, but true.