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How Not to Be Afraid: Seven Ways to Live When Everything Seems Terrifying
"Higgins points us toward tenderness, empathy, and gentle encounter with each other and with our deepest and most relentless fears." —Englewood Review of Books, starred review
The world seems terrifying. Whether your fear is about violence, shame, illness, money, meaning, or the collapse of certainty, you are not alone. Yet the power of the fear we feel depends on the story we tell about fear. Fight, flee, or are these are only options?
Growing up near the troubled city of Belfast, Gareth Higgins was schooled in suspicion, mistrust, and paranoia. Would someone be lurking behind the door? Was there a bomb under that car? Yet fear feeds on the stories we tell ourselves, Higgins claims, and in the pages of How Not to Be Afraid, he delves into the mechanisms of fear, as well as the quiet, immense strength of individuals and communities that refuse to let it reign.
Grounded in personal experience and expert reflection on violence, conflict transformation, and trauma recovery, Higgins traces vulnerability as strength to address seven common fears that plague each of us at some point in our lives. By examining such topics as the fear of being alone, the fear of not having enough, and the fear of violence and death, he invites readers into habits of hope rooted in Celtic spirituality and the mysteries of love.
In the rich spiritual, activist, and literary tradition of Walter Wink and Kathleen Norris, Higgins points us toward tenderness, empathy, and gentle encounter with each other and with our deepest and most relentless fears. He shows us how we can replace our narratives of fear and cynicism with better stories. Peace is the way to itself, he reveals, and when we choose this path, our lives will never be the same.
The world seems terrifying. Whether your fear is about violence, shame, illness, money, meaning, or the collapse of certainty, you are not alone. Yet the power of the fear we feel depends on the story we tell about fear. Fight, flee, or are these are only options?
Growing up near the troubled city of Belfast, Gareth Higgins was schooled in suspicion, mistrust, and paranoia. Would someone be lurking behind the door? Was there a bomb under that car? Yet fear feeds on the stories we tell ourselves, Higgins claims, and in the pages of How Not to Be Afraid, he delves into the mechanisms of fear, as well as the quiet, immense strength of individuals and communities that refuse to let it reign.
Grounded in personal experience and expert reflection on violence, conflict transformation, and trauma recovery, Higgins traces vulnerability as strength to address seven common fears that plague each of us at some point in our lives. By examining such topics as the fear of being alone, the fear of not having enough, and the fear of violence and death, he invites readers into habits of hope rooted in Celtic spirituality and the mysteries of love.
In the rich spiritual, activist, and literary tradition of Walter Wink and Kathleen Norris, Higgins points us toward tenderness, empathy, and gentle encounter with each other and with our deepest and most relentless fears. He shows us how we can replace our narratives of fear and cynicism with better stories. Peace is the way to itself, he reveals, and when we choose this path, our lives will never be the same.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 13, 2021
67 people are currently reading
399 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
April 8, 2021
When I opened How Not to be Afraid: Seven Ways to Live When Everything Seems Terrifying, by Gareth Higgins, founder and editor of The Porch (“a slow conversation about beautiful and difficult things”) I expected to discover ways to not be afraid of tornadoes or flagged biopsy findings or pink slips or out-of-control worldwide pandemics. I thought the book would deliver ways to circumvent the pounding heart or racing mind on sleepless nights. But that wasn’t exactly the book Higgins wrote.
Higgins didn’t write to describe ways to combat fear but rather to describe living in a way that is bigger than fear, a way so full of love and care for this often oh-so-scary but rich and beautiful world, that fear is dwarfed. Here’s how to take your eyes off the fear that holds you and instead open them outward, Higgins is saying on these pages.
Early in the book I was attracted to what Higgins wrote about the stories we tell ourselves:
As I kept turning the pages, I realized more and more that Higgins is calling his readers to attend not only to the stories we tell ourselves but to the stories each of us are helping to write for our neighbors and the world.
Higgins didn’t write to describe ways to combat fear but rather to describe living in a way that is bigger than fear, a way so full of love and care for this often oh-so-scary but rich and beautiful world, that fear is dwarfed. Here’s how to take your eyes off the fear that holds you and instead open them outward, Higgins is saying on these pages.
Early in the book I was attracted to what Higgins wrote about the stories we tell ourselves:
“Stories of connection, courage, creativity, and the common good are more true but less frequently told. Given that the brain more easily recalls shocks than wisdom and notices spectacular more easily than gradual change, these better stories need to be spoken more often with more imagination. That doesn’t always mean they need to be longer. Love your neighbor as yourself is a very short story indeed, but it may contain the secret of how all life can experience its own abundance.”
As I kept turning the pages, I realized more and more that Higgins is calling his readers to attend not only to the stories we tell ourselves but to the stories each of us are helping to write for our neighbors and the world.
October 27, 2021
I saw Higgins at the online Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature in April, after which I promptly ordered all the speakers’ books. He grew up in Northern Ireland in the waning days of the Troubles and has been involved in peacemaking projects as well as in artistic expressions of progressive Christianity such as Wild Goose Festival, which he co-founded, and The Porch, an online magazine he edits. Fear was ingrained in him from his upbringing and reinforced by the bullying he experienced over his sexuality. He writes that it took him decades to learn that fear is a story, one often based on false assumptions about our powerlessness, and that we can change the story.
There’s a psychological/self-help bent to the book as Higgins invites readers, through the exercises at the end of each chapter, to ponder what myths about the true self and its possibilities are limiting their lives. The “seven” of the subtitle actually refers to seven main types of fear, each addressed in turn, such as “fear of having done something that can’t be fixed,” “fear of not having enough,” and “fear of a meaningless life.” There’s a good mix of memoir, theory, anecdotes and therapy speak (though it’s never jargon-y), and while the perspective is Christian, the content is not so religious as to turn off anyone – unless they’re dead set against faith. Many passages hit me right in the solar plexus and made me long to work out how my life can be bigger and part of telling a better story. Particularly recommended to fans of Barbara Brown Taylor, Brian McLaren and Richard Rohr.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
There’s a psychological/self-help bent to the book as Higgins invites readers, through the exercises at the end of each chapter, to ponder what myths about the true self and its possibilities are limiting their lives. The “seven” of the subtitle actually refers to seven main types of fear, each addressed in turn, such as “fear of having done something that can’t be fixed,” “fear of not having enough,” and “fear of a meaningless life.” There’s a good mix of memoir, theory, anecdotes and therapy speak (though it’s never jargon-y), and while the perspective is Christian, the content is not so religious as to turn off anyone – unless they’re dead set against faith. Many passages hit me right in the solar plexus and made me long to work out how my life can be bigger and part of telling a better story. Particularly recommended to fans of Barbara Brown Taylor, Brian McLaren and Richard Rohr.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
April 13, 2021
I'm not a fan of so-called self-help books, but I'm happy to read anything from the ever-delightful Gareth Higgins, whose gentleness and good humor shine through every page here. Indeed, the book is much like its author: keenly perceptive rather than scholarly, not self-consciously profound so much as genuinely wise, never demanding but always uncommonly kind. He not only knows the best critique of the bad is the practice of the better; he lives it -- and this book is proof.
April 13, 2021
book review: how not to be afraid
title: How Not To Be Afraid
author: Gareth Higgins
publisher: Broadleaf Books
date: 2021
Growing up near war-torn Belfast, Gareth Higgins was schooled in suspicion, mistrust, and paranoia. He offers in this book, which is definitely not a "self-help" book, a way of moving forward in the midst of fear.
In this book, Gareth tells a series of stories rooted in his personal experience and shaped by reflection on violence, conflict transformation, and trauma recovery, he examines vulnerability as strength to address seven common fears that plague most, if not all of us, at some point in our lives, the fear...
of being alone,
of having done something that can't be fixed
of a meaningless life
of not having enough,
that you'll be broken forever
of the world
of death
Gareth doesn't write describing ways to combat fear but rather he describes living in a way that is bigger than fear, a way so full of love and care for this world, that fear is decreased.
Early in the book, Gareth writes about the stories we tell ourselves:
“Stories of connection, courage, creativity, and the common good are more true but less frequently told. Given that the brain more easily recalls shocks than wisdom and notices spectacular more easily than gradual change, these better stories need to be spoken more often with more imagination. That doesn’t always mean they need to be longer. Love your neighbor as yourself is a very short story indeed, but it may contain the secret of how all life can experience its own abundance.”
Gareth draws us into habits of hope that are rooted in Celtic spirituality and the mysteries of love.
After looking at each of these seven fears, Gareth offers a practical way of not to be afraid.
Then at the very end, he offers a series of blessings in light of these fears.
You may not agree with all of Gareth's conclusions and approach, but this is a book that is worth reading & reflecting on
#hownottobeafriad
title: How Not To Be Afraid
author: Gareth Higgins
publisher: Broadleaf Books
date: 2021
Growing up near war-torn Belfast, Gareth Higgins was schooled in suspicion, mistrust, and paranoia. He offers in this book, which is definitely not a "self-help" book, a way of moving forward in the midst of fear.
In this book, Gareth tells a series of stories rooted in his personal experience and shaped by reflection on violence, conflict transformation, and trauma recovery, he examines vulnerability as strength to address seven common fears that plague most, if not all of us, at some point in our lives, the fear...
of being alone,
of having done something that can't be fixed
of a meaningless life
of not having enough,
that you'll be broken forever
of the world
of death
Gareth doesn't write describing ways to combat fear but rather he describes living in a way that is bigger than fear, a way so full of love and care for this world, that fear is decreased.
Early in the book, Gareth writes about the stories we tell ourselves:
“Stories of connection, courage, creativity, and the common good are more true but less frequently told. Given that the brain more easily recalls shocks than wisdom and notices spectacular more easily than gradual change, these better stories need to be spoken more often with more imagination. That doesn’t always mean they need to be longer. Love your neighbor as yourself is a very short story indeed, but it may contain the secret of how all life can experience its own abundance.”
Gareth draws us into habits of hope that are rooted in Celtic spirituality and the mysteries of love.
After looking at each of these seven fears, Gareth offers a practical way of not to be afraid.
Then at the very end, he offers a series of blessings in light of these fears.
You may not agree with all of Gareth's conclusions and approach, but this is a book that is worth reading & reflecting on
#hownottobeafriad
April 19, 2021
If we're all, as the mystic Ram Dass said, just walking each other home, then I want to walk with Gareth Higgins. Somehow I know he'll reach out to steady me if I stumble, or wait beside me on the pathway if I need to get extra help, or even when the pandemic is nothing but a distant memory, offer me sips from his water bottle if I'm feeling thirsty.
How Not to Be Afraid is an extension of a kind and authentic spirit; author, activist, movie lover, and earthy spiritual guide who is Gareth Higgins. Each chapter is like an intimate conversation with smiles, the occasional tear, and the warm good craic of a well told story. Wisdom is here, but not preached. It emulates from the hard won truths of Gareth's life, and the aha I feel in my own soul as I read this book is because I somehow find myself in it.
They say to write is to share the personal with hopes of touching universal truth. Gareth has done this here. This is a book I will return to, to practice the exercises offered at the end of each chapter, and to linger in its generous wisdom.
How Not to Be Afraid is an extension of a kind and authentic spirit; author, activist, movie lover, and earthy spiritual guide who is Gareth Higgins. Each chapter is like an intimate conversation with smiles, the occasional tear, and the warm good craic of a well told story. Wisdom is here, but not preached. It emulates from the hard won truths of Gareth's life, and the aha I feel in my own soul as I read this book is because I somehow find myself in it.
They say to write is to share the personal with hopes of touching universal truth. Gareth has done this here. This is a book I will return to, to practice the exercises offered at the end of each chapter, and to linger in its generous wisdom.
March 20, 2021
In a world that seems full of division, tribalism, and conflict, Higgins reminds us of our calling and invitation as human beings to enter into a better way of engaging with the world around us - by striving to embody the life of a peacemaker and pursuer of the Beloved Community. Through his own experiences, Higgins examines seven basic fears many of us face at some point in our lives and invites us to take ownership of the story, changing the narrative to one of beauty, creativity, and benefit for the common good.
As a scholar of global conflicts and peacebuilding (with an emphasis in the northern Irish conflict of Higgins' homeland), I see the concepts presented in this text as approachable ways for anyone and everyone to engage in the active and needed work of peacebuilding in our world.
I highly recommend this book to all.
As a scholar of global conflicts and peacebuilding (with an emphasis in the northern Irish conflict of Higgins' homeland), I see the concepts presented in this text as approachable ways for anyone and everyone to engage in the active and needed work of peacebuilding in our world.
I highly recommend this book to all.
April 8, 2021
What a timely book after a year fearing a virus. Excellent practices at the end of each chapter to reflect and make changes.
Gareth certainly has a background that he can speak from experience about fear.
Some of my favorite quotes:
“Fear doesn’t go away – nor should it. At times it helps us make wise decisions: put on your seatbelt, don’t put your hand in the Tigers cage, slow down... The problem is when fear becomes the lens through which we see everything. We’re often afraid of the wrong thing, or we fear the right things the wrong way. Then we find a difficult or impossible to tell the difference between the story in our head and what we’re actually facing."
He gives us steps to take to not be so fearful and hope for the future.
“Even if the trends change, the world becomes safer when courageous people tell a new story. It’s a story of connection, not separation; creativity, not repetition of what didn’t work before; have courageous action for the common good.”
I love the practices at the end of each chapter.
Gareth certainly has a background that he can speak from experience about fear.
Some of my favorite quotes:
“Fear doesn’t go away – nor should it. At times it helps us make wise decisions: put on your seatbelt, don’t put your hand in the Tigers cage, slow down... The problem is when fear becomes the lens through which we see everything. We’re often afraid of the wrong thing, or we fear the right things the wrong way. Then we find a difficult or impossible to tell the difference between the story in our head and what we’re actually facing."
He gives us steps to take to not be so fearful and hope for the future.
“Even if the trends change, the world becomes safer when courageous people tell a new story. It’s a story of connection, not separation; creativity, not repetition of what didn’t work before; have courageous action for the common good.”
I love the practices at the end of each chapter.
April 9, 2021
Reading this book feels like a balm to my soul; it is indeed "ways to live when everything seems terrifying," as the subtitle says. Gareth Higgins describes the existential, deep-seated fears that we all live with: fear of being alone, fear of having done something that can't be fixed, fear of a meaningless life, fear of not having enough, fear that you'll be broken forever, fear of the world, and fear of death. He masterfully blends spirituality, psychology, and storytelling to talk about what fear is, why we are afraid, and how we can use our innate fears to create something different. Gareth understands fear will never truly go away - nor should it - but that the way we tell stories about our fears and our lives deeply impact the future we make for ourselves. He suggests how we might tell ourselves new stories about our own lives and each other to usher in a more hopeful, creative, and peaceful future. I savor every page of the book. I cannot recommend this book enough!
April 10, 2021
How Not To Be Afraid is one of those books that caught my attention for what it doesn't do: it doesn't call us to deny or overcome fear but to transform it. What a huge difference!
Gareth Higgins grew up in northern Ireland during the decades of conflict in the country. He knows fear, and he knows how to transform it. His words are gentle and full of hope, and he offers practical steps--practices or exercises--at the end of each chapter that can lead us toward a better story than the one that makes us too afraid to live.
I read the book in advance of its release to help with launching it into the world. And I knew from the early pages that this was a necessary book for the times in which we live. I look forward to trying the practices he offers. Already I feel more hopeful in the face of the things I fear.
Gareth Higgins grew up in northern Ireland during the decades of conflict in the country. He knows fear, and he knows how to transform it. His words are gentle and full of hope, and he offers practical steps--practices or exercises--at the end of each chapter that can lead us toward a better story than the one that makes us too afraid to live.
I read the book in advance of its release to help with launching it into the world. And I knew from the early pages that this was a necessary book for the times in which we live. I look forward to trying the practices he offers. Already I feel more hopeful in the face of the things I fear.
June 19, 2022
I found lots of gems in this tender book about managing fear and taking steps toward peace by Higgens, who grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Good thing I purchased the book because I’ve filled it with highlighting, underlining, notes, and little symbols in the margins.
April 19, 2021
It is my great fortune to have encountered the gentle wisdom of Gareth Higgins. In this book, Gareth encourages us to live a life of kindness and substance through our fears. I keep going back and re-reading paragraphs to ensure that they have sunken in!
June 19, 2021
I appreciate that Gareth almost named this book "How to Be Afraid Well" because that is indeed more the gist of it. The insistence that stories can't be destroyed but must be replaced with bigger/better stories and the idea that we can't know when any story we are in is over (much less what it even means sometimes) were both helpful to me. I appreciate the exercises and blessings offered and need to really spend some time with them. This book is well worth your money and time.
Read
December 29, 2022DNF. Not for me. Not right now.
April 13, 2021
This book is full of practices that bring you back to hope and help to quiet fears while addressing the root of fear. Gareth uses his experiences to weave a new story and invitation for us to live a different narrative. In a world where so much fear is thrown at us in the media, the rhetoric of partisan politics, and in religious institutions this brings us back to center our trust in God and the power of hope to cultivate imagination.
March 30, 2021
This book is about so much more than fear. It is about living life well and fully. It is about creating the world that we want to live in and more importantly, the world we want our kids and grandkids to live in. It is about putting hatred behind us. It is about limiting all the forces in our world, all the attitudes in our culture and ourselves, that diminish rather than enlarge our lives.
There is wisdom and insight on practically every page. Mine copy is underlined to death!
This will be a life changing read for those who take it to heart.
There is wisdom and insight on practically every page. Mine copy is underlined to death!
This will be a life changing read for those who take it to heart.
March 29, 2021
Dr. Gareth Higgins offers a page turning, solution based approach to fear in this brilliant piece of work. I highly recommend this book to anyone suffering from anxiety, fear, depression or anyone simply wanting to dig in and understand what being afraid is all about and what to do about it.
March 23, 2021
Years ago, I said I'd never ever buy another self-help book. But I have been in workshops with the author of this book and every time I've been in a session with him, I've come away with useful knowledge that I can apply to my life. So when I saw this book was available, I purchased and read it. It's wonderfully written. A page turner, if you will. It's part biography, part a sharing of Gareth's experience strength and hope. I have referred it to many of my friends and family members, which I'm always hesitant to do, as many times what I like, they don't particularly relish. However, I'm most certain that anyone that reads this book will thank me for recommending it to them. If you can't be in a session with Gareth, this is the next best thing.
March 20, 2021
This nuanced and personal series of reflections considers the role of fear in our lives. Fear is a natural and life-giving instinct. But it can be manipulated in ways that are toxic and destructive. Higgins is a born storyteller, and this book doesn't disappoint. But he also offers concrete practices to help us speak back to the prisons that our fear can create, to show us a way that is courageous, relational and free.
June 20, 2025
I wanted to lie this book more than I did, as I know the author, appreciate his insights and the whole book was full of places, situations and indeed allusions to people that I know. There is much that I did like. It was interesting to hear something of his journey from the days when I knew him best, to his present more "whole" self, including the background story of his childhood and young adult years that was not necessarily seen by casual acquaintances such as me... and perhaps wilfully ignored by some in the church context that shaped and to a degree scarred him. The points he makes about dealing with fear in the complexity of an inhumanly-paced modern world, are important and some of his "tools" for dealing with aspects of that are helpful. I have shamelessly used one of his concluding "blessings" wholesale in a recent event (with due credit) and will probably cannibalise others... However, I just found the whole a little bit pseudo-psychological and at times guru/shamanesque, which just doesn't do it for me... I suspect that this is a personality thing rather than anything else, and I can see why particular counselling techniques and the mentorship of people like John O'Donohue has been important for Gareth and has influenced his writing style, but it actually alienates me... This is despite the fact that Gareth's appeal for us to "tell a different story" is embedded in such approaches and style and is a sentiment that chimes with my own thinking, on both a personal and social level... I just wish the "story" in this case had a different writing style... (but then this reviewer is someone who doesn't actually like the writing of many highly lauded authors... so it is probably me!!!)
September 10, 2023
The hope in this book is extraordinary.
There are glimmering sentences scattered throughout, and each of the 7 fears addressed have a responding practice the reader is invited to.
I found myself hoping for a deeper or more full fleshing out or naming of fears, rather than a series of catch all lists that sometimes felt like a gloss.
I suspect that if I were to practice the 7 invitations in the book, for an extended space and time, that I would experience less fear, (because truly, I do fear the continued loss of community that I continually encounter) however, it sometimes felt that I should simply recognize that I’m only afraid of my reaction to fear, and so it felt a little gaslighty sometimes, because of how deep and ingrained my various traumas reside, and how rarely they are acknowledged.
However, as a conversation starter, I’m looking forward to meeting Gareth in person, and sharing stories with him.
There are glimmering sentences scattered throughout, and each of the 7 fears addressed have a responding practice the reader is invited to.
I found myself hoping for a deeper or more full fleshing out or naming of fears, rather than a series of catch all lists that sometimes felt like a gloss.
I suspect that if I were to practice the 7 invitations in the book, for an extended space and time, that I would experience less fear, (because truly, I do fear the continued loss of community that I continually encounter) however, it sometimes felt that I should simply recognize that I’m only afraid of my reaction to fear, and so it felt a little gaslighty sometimes, because of how deep and ingrained my various traumas reside, and how rarely they are acknowledged.
However, as a conversation starter, I’m looking forward to meeting Gareth in person, and sharing stories with him.
July 22, 2025
I met Gareth and his husband Brian this summer on a retreat they led in northern Ireland (lower-case "N" is explained in the book). Gareth grew up during the northern Ireland Troubles, so fear was his go-to emotion. He is a charming storyteller, so I was curious as to how the book would measure up. I appreciate how Gareth's life mission of transforming pain through stories extends to this book. In this book, Gareth describes pervasive and relatable fears, connects these fears to his own life, and offers means for overriding the various fears. For each fear, practical trips are provided for living outside of that fear. In particular, Gareth challenges the reader to change perspective as a means of defanging fear: amidst the terrible there is also beauty and healing. The Blessings at the end of the book are a nice bonus.
May 4, 2021
With the world seeming to implode around us, I often feel exhausted, anxious, and somewhat paralyzed. This book isn’t a typical self help book. In the author’s own words it might better be titled “How to Be—and How Not to Be—Afraid”, or alternatively, “How to Be Afraid Well.” Since fear is a natural response to the world as we see it (Gareth’s line), he talks about ways to transform our fear by “imagining better stories lived in community, grounded by the wisdom of elders, and with a purpose beyond personal gain” (again, straight out of his book). I found myself underlining so much of this book. I’m on my second time reading it, and I feel inspired, empowered, and far less fearful. This is not pie in the sky—it’s both profound and practical.
April 26, 2021
Gareth Higgins is one of those people who when he speaks, I listen. He's a storyteller at heart and he brings his gift for storytelling to some of the hardest fears in life--helping us find what stories we have been telling ourselves that give into fear, anxiety, pain, and anger and then challenging us to begin telling a better story. In particular, his unique perspective on systemic fear--influenced by growing up in Ireland during the Troubles--is a refreshing take on how to engage society productively without becoming apathetic. I can't recommend this book enough.
December 29, 2024
How to make a difference for good in the world? One way is to be psychologically/emotionally/spiritually well oneself...another is to pay attention to the stories one is consuming and the stories one is telling. Because he grew up in Belfast, Higgins knows about fear and the reality of violence.
In the first half of the book, he unpacks and analyzes fear. In the second half, he defines seven basic universal fears. Each chapter (in both parts) ends with exercises.
Thought-provoking, hopeful, a great book for discussion!
In the first half of the book, he unpacks and analyzes fear. In the second half, he defines seven basic universal fears. Each chapter (in both parts) ends with exercises.
Thought-provoking, hopeful, a great book for discussion!
April 21, 2021
As some who struggles with anxiety, I am finding this book to be a thoughtful and compassionate look at what it means to live in fear, not just on a personal level, but on a global one. And yes, there are solutions - but they are not simple or glib. If you're ready to look deep, Higgins offers concrete ways of shifting the stories we tell that keep us trapped in our fear and the knee-jerk responses that come out of it: violence, numbness, avoidance, placating, deception, and defensiveness.
April 7, 2022
A Treatise on Love
This amazing book is really not the how-to guide that I think the title suggests. The book speaks more to deeper meanings in life, in relationships, and in how we know ourselves. The author writes so personally and beautifully. Breathe.
This amazing book is really not the how-to guide that I think the title suggests. The book speaks more to deeper meanings in life, in relationships, and in how we know ourselves. The author writes so personally and beautifully. Breathe.
August 24, 2022
Full of great advice for living a full and fantastic life full of love and life and transforming your fear into something powerful, something capable of healing us and the world.
A great prescription for a world filled with to much fear and violence.
A great prescription for a world filled with to much fear and violence.
June 7, 2024
I loved this book. I haven’t read a book that left me feeling this hopeful about the future in a very long time. Higgins is a masterful storyteller, and indeed his thesis is that storytelling, at least a different story, can save the world.
May 9, 2025
My heart goes out to the author for the traumatic childhood he survived. This is a tough read as instead of just going right into the positive courage and strength we all need he wallows in group labeling and hate. So many better books on courage and growth.
December 29, 2021
I love this book. Especially appreciate the 7 contemplative practices and the blessings at the back of the book. Its a powerful interplay of storytelling weaving into concept and into practices.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews