Rating: 
Summary: A great companion in my journey!
Review: When the Amazon box arrived I excitedly opened it to find Thom's newest book. I began reading it as soon as I unwrapped the box and found that as usual, it arrived at exactly the right time in my life. In his writing, Thom gives simple yet profoundly helpful and practical tools for helping us face fear, explore it and then do something to help us move beyond it's grip on our lives. One of the most helpful distinctions Thom makes in the book is the one between neurotic and healthy fear. He shows how neurotic fear can cripple our lives and what we can do to face this kind of fear and work towards responding to it in a wiser way. Facing my fear has been a major part of my healing process and now I have an even bigger tool to help me as I make the leap from what I've known myself to be into a bigger, fuller and more expansive "me." Anyone traveling on their path with intention can benefit from such a practical, helpful guide like Embracing Fear!
Rating:
Summary: EMBRACE THIS BOOK!!
Review: With wit, clarity and deep empathy, Thom Rutledge helps us to confront and respond to our fears in his new book, "Embracing Fear". Using the acronym F.E.A.R.,facing, exploring, accepting and responding, he guides us toward an understanding of how we can move ahead with our lives and live with courage and self respect.Differentiating between healthy fear, or what he calls "The Ally", and neurotic fear, which he calls "The Bully", I was stunned at how familiar these characters were in my mind. I know the bully intimately and he's a beast. This book is so joyous though it's made me want to take his horns off and play them like Mexican trumpets at my fiesta of healing. The book also has a generous helping what the author calls, "Nutshells", little swatches of light and wisdom that read sort of like cosmic sound bites. A couple of examples: "God flunks no one, but He sure does give lots of retests" and "Arrogance exists where genuine self-love does not". I've whittled one down even further and I've posted it right above my computer and I'm looking at it now, "Progress Not Perfection". At the very least,"Embracing Fear" is mercifully devoid of the typical self-help jargon. (By the grace of God and good taste, the word "codependent" never appears.) It's more like spending time with and old and wise friend who is not above admitting that he also is far from perfect but progress is right here among us. I've bought several of these and have given them to friends and have been thanked profusely afterward. This is something rare and special and should be shared with anyone you care about who is letting fear beat them up. In a 'nutshell', "Courage is to fear as light is to darkness".
Rating:
Summary: A BOOK WITH A SPECIAL MESSAGE
Review: Written with sincere compassion, and a warm, direct tone, Thom Rutledge gives us permission to be human, and helps the reader see that having fears, or tendencies to avoid those situations which create fear, is not a basis for shame. Embracing Fear teaches the reader to transform maladaptive responses, into winning situations, and the importance of finding the gift, lesson or opportunity in challenges we face. With his honest style, he helps us find the reason and rational messages we can listen to within our being when facing difficult or frightening situations. This is a man who knows of what he writes. His knowledge, personal experience, and ability to convey that he truly cares makes him a uniquley therapeutic and helpful writer. The reader is left feeling nurtured all along the way, and yet skillfully challenged as well. Wendy Oliver-Pyatt, MD author: Fed Up! The Breakthrough Ten Step No-Diet Fitness Plan.
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