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Malcolm Watts

Goodreads author profile

url

http://www.goodreads.com/Malcolm1952

born

June 20, 1952 in Toronto Ontario, Canada

gender

male

website

http://www.authorsden.com/malcolmwatts

genre

Biographies & Memoirs, Nonfiction, Poetry

influences

John Lennon, Timothy Leary, Saul Alinsky, Grace Paley, Margaret Lauren...more

member since

January 2008

About this author

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Reflections from Shadow is an engaging work will keep the reader enthralled until the very end. A Must Read!!
Delores Thornton BlackRefer.com

INTERVIEW BY DELORES THORNTON:

DT: How long did it take to write Reflections from Shadow?

MW: The book took me around 6 years to write. Partly this was because I worked at it in my spare time, and partly because I wrote the story without an outline. I rewrote it umpteen times. My need to write it arose from my own troubled childhood, Evangelical upbringing, as well as 20 years clinical practice with troubled children, families, adolescents and adults. I wanted the world to hear the voice of a child trying to understand the adult world.

DT: Why did you write this story?
MW: Part of the reason I wrote the...more Reflections from Shadow is an engaging work will keep the reader enthralled until the very end. A Must Read!!
Delores Thornton BlackRefer.com

INTERVIEW BY DELORES THORNTON:

DT: How long did it take to write Reflections from Shadow?

MW: The book took me around 6 years to write. Partly this was because I worked at it in my spare time, and partly because I wrote the story without an outline. I rewrote it umpteen times. My need to write it arose from my own troubled childhood, Evangelical upbringing, as well as 20 years clinical practice with troubled children, families, adolescents and adults. I wanted the world to hear the voice of a child trying to understand the adult world.

DT: Why did you write this story?
MW: Part of the reason I wrote the book was to give voice to children, and adults, traumatized by the western Judaeo Christian concept of a punitive masculine God. The growth of evangelical fundamentalism in North America (as well as Islamic fundamentalism in other parts of the world) is alarming to me. God is not man or woman, Christian or Hindu and faiths that promote themselves as having an ultimate truth that people must believe, or else, at the risk of eternal damnation, are wrong and destructive. Promoting these beliefs to innocent children, instead of generic values of humanity and inclusiveness, is emotional child abuse and socially destructive.

Mankind’s survival now depends upon our appreciation of difference in beliefs and acceptance of what people want to do and believe as long as those beliefs do not infringe on the rights of others by maintaining they constitute the ONLY truth there is and seek to impose themselves on others.
Despite what theological scholars will insist, most ordinary people understand intuitively that there are basic truths that underlay most religions and ethical contructs, i.e., the Golden rule. These universal ideas are what we need to pay attention to and understand that other aspects/structures of religion and belief systems are the result of political/cultural and sociological factors that range back hundreds and thousands of years. As the pinball wizard in my book says, They are all true, and yet none of it is completely true. Each faith contains an aspect of truth -- facets in the gem of understanding.

DT: Was Jared based on someone you know? Or was his character straight from your imagination?
MW: Jared is an amalgam of many kids I knew growing up, including myself, as well as children I have worked with in my clinical practice. We care for Jared, I think, because he has a way of questioning his world yet lacks the maturity to reconcile his questions. He also represents that child extant in all adults that continue to feel bewildered by certain questions of life, death, meaning and belief.

DT: Why did Jared not seek out his birth parents?
MW: Remember that in the past it was very difficult, nearly impossible for people to search for their birth parents. Also, such actions were generally viewed negatively by adoptive parents in that era. Children felt compelled to repress such desires and could not even speak of them for fear of “hurting” ones' adoptive parents. Many writers in the professional literature on the subject of adoption refer to this as the child playing out the role of “Good” adoptee vs “bad” adoptee. Strictly in terms of the story, I never really thought about having Jared pursue this. Generally, in those days, if someone was to search for birth parents it would not be until they were older than Jared was at the end of the book.

DT: Have you visited locales mentioned in the book?
MW: Yes, I have traveled extensively. I met my wife while traveling in Europe in 1974. I spent time in Amsterdam and Germany, and many other places, and yes I visited Dachau camp museum. I studied history in University and am particularly interested in world war II. I wanted to describe Amsterdam as it was in those days, and is to some (less)

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Books by Malcolm Watts

Average rating: 4.17 · 6 ratings · 2 reviews · 1 distinct work

Reflections from Shadow

4.17 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2004 — 2 editions

My rating:

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Malcolm's Writing

Reflections from Shadow - Chapter One (Biographies & Memoirs)

1 chapters — updated May 14, 2011 07:23am

Description: The meaning of Jared Clarkson's lifetime of prisoner dreams is revealed at Dachau concentration camp in 1969. This 60's coming of age page-turner resonates, entertains and surprises. Read first 85 pages FREE on Google. Download Kindle Version on Amazon for $7.99

Malcolm is Currently Reading

Malcolm gave

to:

The Buddhist Way Of Life

by Christmas Humphreys

bookshelves: currently-reading

read in October, 2010

My rating:

Malcolm said: "Wonderfully readable book explaining Buddhism and related issues in clear, succinct langauge. I recommend this book as a good overview for anyone seeking a primer on this fascinating philosphy. He maintains that Buddhism is not a religion in the trad...more "

Oct 01, 2010 07:56am · see review

Malcolm gave

to:

Essential Tibetan Buddhism

by Robert A.F. Thurman

bookshelves: currently-reading, reading-slowly

My rating:

Malcolm said: " Interesting but rather heavy going in places. Sadly No index but contains a wealth of information about this subject. "

Sep 13, 2010 10:09pm · see review

Malcolm gave

to:

Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions

by Lisa Randall

bookshelves: currently-reading

My rating:

Malcolm said: "Readable, interesting, informative. Looking forward to a terrific scientific read for the layperson "

Feb 25, 2010 08:17pm · see review

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Malcolm's Recent Updates

Malcolm gave to: The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell	My rating:
Mar 25, 2012 12:42am
Malcolm gave to: A Thousand Shall Fall: The True Story of a Canadian Bomber Pilot in World War Two by Murray Peden read in March, 2012	My rating:
This is perhaps the best memoir of WW II I have ever read. It is the story of Murray Peden, a boy from Winnipeg, who became a pilot in RCAF 214 Squadron, and was awarded the DSM by King George. The book describes the training of our pilots from groun...more
Mar 25, 2012 12:41am · see review
Malcolm gave to: Life by Keith Richards read in February, 2012	My rating:
Book Review: Life Author: Keith Richards Little Brown and Company 2010 ISBN 978-0-315-0343 8-8 Sometimes you learn things about people from their auto-biography that surprise you in a very positive direction. Such was the case when I gobbled Keith Richa...more
Feb 25, 2012 01:30pm · see review
Malcolm made a comment on his review of The Shelters of Stone (Earth's Children, #5) "Hi Shannon. Glad you are enjoying Shelters of Stone. You might like to google my novel, Reflections from Shadow. You can read the first 85 pages on-li...more "
Sep 27, 2011 06:01am · see review
Malcolm gave to: What's Bred In The Bone by Robertson Davies read in June, 2011	My rating:
I love Robersston Davies novels - usually. I kept waiting for something to happen and not much does really. Perhaps this is what is called character driven novel with the plot secondary. I recommend it only to diehard fans of Davies. Otherwise, the D...more
Jun 05, 2011 05:39pm · see review
Malcolm wrote Reflections from Shadow - Chapter One: Synopsis/Reviews/ Chapter One " About the Book: 60's coming of age story plumbing the potential for evil in each of us. During a bac" …more
May 14, 2011 07:20am · like
Malcolm gave to: Endgame, 1945 by David Stafford	My rating:
Feb 24, 2011 11:05am
Malcolm gave to: The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes	My rating:
Feb 05, 2011 06:34pm
Malcolm gave to: Dark Nights of the Soul: A Guide to Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals by Thomas Moore	My rating:
Feb 05, 2011 06:33pm
Malcolm gave to: Rubiyat Of Omar Khayham (Chatham River Press Raders Bookshelf) by Omar Khayyam	My rating:
Feb 05, 2011 06:32pm

More of Malcolm's books…

Quotes by Malcolm Watts

“I can't wait for the human race to be over and they give out the trophies.”
― Malcolm Watts

3 people liked it

“As has been said, the truth will set you free - but first it will make you miserable.”
― Malcolm Watts

2 people liked it

“Life is a carnivore. Eat it before it eats you.”
― Malcolm Watts

2 people liked it

See all Malcolm Watts's quotes »

Quotes Malcolm Likes

“If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it.”
― W.C. Fields

tags: humor , success

3,493 people liked it

“And, in the end
The love you take
is equal to the love you make.”
― Paul McCartney

tags: beatles , inspirational , live , love , music

2,910 people liked it

“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast....a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.”
― Edward Abbey

tags: adventure , advice , living

230 people liked it

“No one here gets out alive.”
― Jim Morrison

tags: death , life , verse

308 people liked it

“..and the only law,
that there need be
you shall not take away the free
from any man
though different he.”
― Malcolm Watts

1 person liked it

More quotes Malcolm likes…