Anarchist to Abolitionist: A Bad Quaker's Journey

by Ben Stone

"Anarchist to Abolitionist: A Bad Quaker's Journey" is the story of a laborer, a carpenter, a ditch digger, a farm worker, a roofer, a cotton picker, a tomato picker, a machine mechanic, a lab analysis, a stationary steam engineer, a water treatment specialist, an efficiency specialist, a drug dealer, an enforcer, a loan shark collector, an aerospace engineer, and more. But it's really the story of one individual's quest for freedom during the last half of the twentieth century and the first two decades of the twenty first. It's the story of the physical, the mental, and the theological journey of one man as he pursued the thing that evaded him; true freedom for himself and for everyone else who seeks it.

198 pages, Paperback

Published September 13, 2019

Reviews

[Ian Minielly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like autobiographies and this one mostly delivers. There is a bit of stream of consciousness writing, which takes a bit to recognize and understand the generally time-lined string of events.

The book is worth reading to see how one individual progresses through different life stages, my biggest fear for this book is most people being born today, lack the kind of opportunity to develop so many wide ranging skills and habits because their lives are mostly picked out for them through mandatory State requirements.

The ability to self direct is largely lost on people today, unless one unschools their kids, which is mentioned in the book. I think the path to Anarchist or even Abolitionist is much different today. Most I imagine do not find themselves in either camp through a lifetime of discovery and mistakes, but through digital formats, which in my mind likely leads to less conviction than those like Stone who have lived an exciting life and make an informed choice and decision.