I happened to be up early this morning and turned on C-Span's "booknotes" to hear David Anderson. When he was finished speaking, I knew I had to buy this book. Even though I have not yet read it, the message that Mr. Anderson shared about commitment, respect, sincerity and acceptance and his evident faith and alignment with his Christian beliefs were so incredibly powerful, that I knew I needed to place an order immediately.
I can't honestly offer a "star" rating as yet, but since I had to make a choice, I feel my rating is justified based on what I've seen so far.

Anderson and Zuercher should be applauded for their courage to tackle the ongoing subject of Racism in America. I found the book very informative and encouraging, especially when Mr. Zuercher admitted to thoughts he did not realized he harbored against Blacks. I found the book informative as Mr. Anderson set an example for all us, on how to deal with persons who hate just because of something they see on the outside (skin color, religion style, etc.) This book is for anyone wanting to grow in their relationships with others.

I attend Bridgeway Community Church on a regular basis. I have attended this church for about 5 years now. I know David Anderson personally, and I am very proud of him and his many achievements since I have known him.

I can vouch for Dr. Zuercher-White's ability as a cognitive-behavioral therapist. However, it's up to you to do the in vivo exposures that, over time, will free you from avoidance. This isn't her book for patients; this is for the therapists, although perhaps some people like to see things from the other side.

This is a sound approach to treating panic and anxiety. The exercises are based on the clinical literature and the author's experience as a therapist. The book is in workbook format with large pages and very long lines of text across the page, which makes reading it difficult for some clients. In addition, the client has to be fairly well educated to benefit from the text. It would not be very useful to those who are not very good readers or those who have little formal education (e.g., high school dropouts with little interest in reading). Nonetheless, the ideas are useful for therapists who can incorporate them into their work without using the text per se.

I have read many books and seen many therapist over the last 8 years, and this book proves to place the reader in an active role in overcoming their anxiety. Not that other books were not helpful, but this one made the other books about anxiety all come together to reinforce what I was doing. The best advice is to have someone help you to be accountable and do what the book says because only practice will help you change.

I've read many, many books on treating panic disorder, but this is the ONLY book that helped me overcome my panic disorder. I only wish I had read it years ago. Panic pretty much ... my life down a black hole -- I was so agoraphobic that for two years I rarely left my bedroom, even to go down the hall to the kitchen. A cognitive-behavioral therapist gave me a copy of this book and took me step by step thru it. It took 8 months of hard, scary work but today I can go anywhere, with or without anyone, and do anything, for as long as I want, whenever I want --not a medication in sight and not a twinge of inapropriate panic. Two years ago I couldn't even contemplate walking to the end of my driveway. I just can't recommend this book highly enough. It was the light at the end of my tunnel.

Recently, I became interested in enneagram theory. Briefly, it is a sophisticated ancient system for identifying the nine basic life scripts - your practical/psychological/spiritual stance in life - how you cope - your perceptions - what you tell yourself about reality. There are nine of them (like the nine muses) - nine kinds of human energy (a 9 isn't better or higher than a 1. The numbers form triads of interrelationship). So after investigating the system, I had decided I must be a 4, but pretty much lost interest in the whole thing. It can nail down your personality type all right, but for the most part, what I had read didn't tell me what to do about it, i.e. how to grow and improve.

Since Thomas Merton is one of my all-time favorite authors, I was surprised and pleased to discover this book that claims that Merton was also a 4, especially since, as the author claims, "Spiritual mentors come, of course, from all nine of these gestures in life. This being so, it can prove helpful along the way of conversion and more contemplative living for us to find guides who emphasize what is relevant for our own worldview or life stance. In some ways we all do just that through trial and error. What enneagram study can facilitate is a more informed search. If it accomplishes this, then people who want to live their life more fully...will avoid the cul-de-sacs that contradict their personalities and slow down spiritual transformation."

Zuercher points out that Merton's theme of human journey was moving from a false to a true self. "We need to get off our personal stage and stay out of our personal audience. This is a theme 2/3/4s can readily identify with. That being so, they are probably the ones who most find Merton a helpful mentor." Exactly so.

If you are a Thomas Merton fan, you'll enjoy this book whether or not you've ever heard of enneagrams. If you're interested in an in-depth study of enneagrams but have never heard of Merton, you'll be edified by this investigation. If you're a 4 and also a Merton fan, you'll love it. If you couldn't care less about any of this, you're probably not reading this review anyway.

pamhan99@aol.com