I have used my years teaching anger management to help people understand some of the serious danger we all face when we don't learn to cope with these feelings inside of ourselves. We need to be able to recognize anger in ourselves and others and to learn how to understand it. I feel we dwell in a culture of denial. People have grown so insulated and isolated that they often are not in touch with themselves or others. Just like planes need instruments and gifted pilots to fly and know how to land and how to stop accidents and violent collisions with other planes, we as people need to learn how to fly our own systems and how to navigate in potentially dangerous situations. When I started in this field, there was a great deal of openness and freedom. You were encouraged to venture into the darkness of another's soul and experience their pain with them. Now, I feel people run from closeness and most of all from intense emotions. My field has changed dramatically. I will show in this book how dangerous it is to fly blindly and to deny your feelings and ignore the strong signals inside that trouble is ahead; you need to learn to be courageous and to face the frightening emotions we all feel. The tighter you screw the lid down on your feelings the more damaging and dangerous they become to yourself and others. Very few books are written about anger and how to deal with that emotion. I have had a lot of experience in this area, both in my practice and in my own personal life. I am daring to share it in hopes that it lights the path for the others to come. I have clearly outlined in this book how the authoritarian personality that I did my dissertation on has become more dominant in our culture. Fascism is a very hypnotic but scary style to live with and to embrace. I want to expose the tragic outcomes that can emerge from embracing fascist thinking and not keeping a vigilant watch on all of the changes and behavior of the people in power. We need to return to the angels within us and reclaim some of the tender warriors that have been with us in the past. Integrity is the key and having a belief in a higher power.
Please visit my website at: www.theroadmosttraveled.com
BOOK REVIEW
Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite
The Road Most Traveled: My Journey With ‘People of the Lie’ by Bonnie Bull, Ph.D. is a self-help book primarily about anger management and how to deal with anxiety. Bonnie has had much experience of anger in her personal life and through work. She taught anger management for many years, trying to teach people how to rein in and manage their feelings in a way that they could comfortably live with. Over time, we have all changed. People have stopped caring about one another and now care only for themselves and their own feelings. We walk a dangerous path now, a culture of denial in many ways, and we have lost touch, not just with others but with ourselves too. We are unaware of how to deal with anger, indeed, in many cases, how to even recognize that emotion for what it is and this book attempts to guide us off that path onto the right one, away from what can only end in tragedy.
The Road Most Traveled: My Journey With ‘People of the Lie’ by Bonnie Bull, Ph.D. may be a self-help book on anger management but it's more than that. This is Bonnie’s story of the tragedy and pain she has faced in life, personally and in trying to help others to recognize and manage their anger issues. This book truly is an inspiration to all of us. We do live in a dark world now and, in many ways, it’s only getting darker. But Bonnie shows us that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, always that ray of hope and, through this guide, she tries to lead us back to that light. I found this quite moving in places and incredibly well written. The tone of voice used is that of a personal conversation as if Bonnie is talking to us all individually. It’s the kind of book that should make us all give ourselves a good shake and try to be better people. You can't change the world overnight but if we all change just a little bit of ourselves, things would be so much better for everyone.