Living the Truth: Transform Your Life Through the Power of Insight and Honesty

by Keith Ablow

Dr. Keith Ablow, bestselling author and host of a new daily one-hour daytime-TV talk show, presents his first self-help book.

Based on more than 20 years of clinical experience and highlighting stories from his own practice, Ablow shows how ignoring or burying painful memories and experiences can negatively affect every aspect of our lives, and he presents strategies to help the reader transform the pain of the past into the power of the future. In a world where short-term talk therapy and medication are the latest trends to "fixing" an unhappy life, Ablow's message is controversial.

But though examining the past can be daunting, Living the Truth is as comforting and rewarding as it is transformative. And through Ablow's fine storytelling skills, empathetic voice, and straight-up advice, the experience of reading this extraordinary book becomes the first step to living a truly authentic life.

Genres: Self Help, Psychology, Nonfiction, Personal Development

320 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

Keith Russell Ablow is an American psychiatrist, New York Times best-selling author, and television personality.

Reviews

[Mike Trapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

While it is true that you can't change your past, you certainly can change how you feel about it, and the evidence presented in this book shows dramatic examples of that. I picked this book up while browsing at the bookstore, glanced through a few pages, and felt that this book had the potential of cutting through years of denial and repression and put me firmly on the road to self actualization. I'm only half way through but so far I am not disappointed. Good Housekeeping's comment on the book - "You'll want to make an appointment with Dr. Keith Ablow" - is exactly how I feel. I'm positive that this will help me achieve greater joy and peace, and it's definitely on my "to share" list.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will read this book again and again and am going to give a copy to a few people I know who might benefit from the insights.
Keith Ablow has the best bedside manner ever in the whole universe.
He comes from a place of "Yes"
It will take me awhile to totally transform but Rome wasn't built in a day.
The first step in solving a problem is to recognize there is a problem.
I found problems that I didn't know I had but they are covers for behavior that is destructive.

[Adam Kovynia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reason I decided to read this book was because years ago I bought a copy of his other book called inside the mind of scott Peterson and I was very impressed with how interesting and well done that book was. I think anyone who would be intrigued by this book Living the Truth should definitely read it. it makes you look at your past and see some of the connections between how your life situations are now like relationships etc and how they relate to your childhood. I'd like to read more of his work in the future as well.

[Stephenie (Insta: reading_and_running_ ) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grabbed this on a whim from the library shelf and am so glad I did. This book made me really think about my life and why I’ve done the things I’ve done to get where I am today. I’m going to renew it so I can go back and fill out all the questions, which is something I’ve never done. I’d love to gift this book to so many people!

[Samuel · Rating 2 out of 5]

as of 2020, Keith Ablow is not Living the Truth anymore.

[Summer · Rating 2 out of 5]

good journal prompts, bad writing

[Wil Roese · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dr. Ablow is somewhat anti-antidepressant which is a good thing but he is also somewhat against "The Power of Now" and Alcoholics Anonymous which is not such a good thing. It is true that our past affects our present but only to the degree we allow it to. Dwelling on the fact that we did not fell as loved as a child as we would have liked to have been does not solve our problems but only makes them worse. We can not change the past and, therefor, to the extent that we blame our current problems on the past to that extent we become helpless to change them. This is one of the problems with much of modern psychotherapy and why so many people in psychotherapy, unlike the cases in this book, never seem to get better but often seem to get worse. If you don't believe me just think about the people you know in psychotherapy.
That said, much of our problems do arise because, as Dr. Ablow correctly points out, we do not feel loved. Feeling loved is our most essential psychological needs. When we do not feel loved we try to fill the void left by the absence of love with other things. This could be respect through achievement or just tiring to receive attention. We may also try to fill the vacuum with sex, drugs, alcohol, spending money, gambling, possession, or work. Admitting that our problem arise from a lack of feeling loved is a good first step but that is where Dr. Ablow and most modern psychotherapist leave us . They have no solution to the lack of love we all feel and so all they can do is continually analyze why we do not feel loved without ever helping us to feel loved. The reason they can not help us to feel loved is because they themselves do not know how to help us to feel loved. This is because our ultimate failure to feel loved is not a psychological problem but a spiritual problem and modern psychotherapy has denied the spiritual for the biological.

[Susana Guerra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book goes through so many stories about people's lives and what impacted them as a child to become the person they are today. Most have to do with how their relationships with their parents were. I enjoyed the Story about Mary who was 100% dependant of her husband just like she was with her parents. The story about the lawyer who ended up becoming an Architect, Tom with his dream of a restaurant or Maggie the woman who thought she had the best relationship with her mother. The book has so many different exercises to dig deep into your past. I skipped those excercises as I don't enjoy self help books, but it was an interesting book. Will I read it again? No. Why!? because I rather study the bible and change through God.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

After hearing Dr. Keith on The Howard Stern show during the Sal and Christine bit, I picked up the book.

I wasn't sure what to expect because who knows about any of these self help books, but I really found a lot in this book that was useful to me.

Anyone that is going to read this book needs to approach it with the belief that they are going to have an open mind and also with a notebook to do the exercises that are prescribed in the book.

I really gained a great deal of insight into my own mind by reading and using this book.

And I imagine that everyone can learn a little more about themselves.

[Tatjana Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a work of his that was fiction and intended to pick up another of his suspense novels, but came across this little gem instead when I was at the library yesterday. Most definitely, this man is amazing with his ability in the healing fields of psychology. I found a few chapters paralleled my own life in certain ways. I am a big believer in examining patterns of behavior in order to make changes that can create positive growth. Truly believe this is one of those books and he is one of those people that make a positive difference. Recommend.

[Sharon Heaverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very helpful in getting you past the stumbling blocks that keep you from moving forward in your life. Keith Ablow gets right to the basics by showing you how to do just that. Dr. Ablow tells you how facing the past and perhaps looking at in a different way will help to remove the patterns that keep us churning in the same circle. I found this book very helpful and read many sections over and over, taking notes to refresh my mind when I come across one of those stumbling blocks.

[Ceil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. An interactive "self help" book, with interesting ideas. He has you really looking back to find the roots of your problems and/or typical behavior. I read it in two days as I thought I was going to have the opportunity to meet the author at a mutual friend's party. He was a no show but I did not regret reading the book and doing the work for one minute!

[Alex Rudder]

This book is good for anyone who is going through a rough time, and needs a little support. Keith Ablow is one of the best physiotherapists in the country, and if you cant have a session with him face to face, this book makes up for it by having one in a book. It has interactive questions that can help YOU diagnose your self, and even better, help yourself.

[Gregory Fugal · Rating 3 out of 5]

living the truth is a must. this book would be especially good for those who tend to block things out of their mind, live in denial, have trouble facing their emotions, or have out of controlled emotion.

however I feel he doesn't adequately give guidance on how to handle the truth once you finally face it,, or how to change and improve once you know about it.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this one. He basically says you have to comb thru your past to find out what is wrong with you now. Maybe for some yes but for me, no. But if one self-help book worked for everyone, there would only be one of them.

[Jorge Zoquier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simplemente Asombroso!! es un libro espectacular, de una lectura sencila y facil de leer, me encanta la forma en como el autor te da una serie de tips y tecnicas que te ayudaran a salir de una situaicon dificil, definitivamente un libro maravilloso!!

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tough book to get through. But worth it.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good basic no nonsense at home therapy book.

[Casey Vaughan]

Sounds like a good book by a good author.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

May we all stop numbing ourselves and face our painful, emotional memories to release power and energy!

[Jenni Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of good information in here about being honest with yourself.