The Heroic Path:In Search of the Masculine Heart by John Sowers
2014
Weight: 12 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating
I did not expect much out of this book, but it surprised me in that in underwhelmed me in totally unexpected ways. It was not sexist or offensive in any way--except for one paragraph that touches just slightly and yet painfully on being transgendered. The author seemed to respect and appreciate women. He was willing to lay his thoughts, feelings, and emotions out there--sometimes in stereo-typically "un-masculine" ways which I really did respect him for.
In the end, I did not like it because of the writing style, the unexpected dig at being transgendered, and the way god looms so heavy over the last few chapters. He writes, "Culture says manhood is not trustworthy or is irrelevant. Gender is a choice--men may become women and vice versa, based on whim or feeling. Children take hormone therapy based on if they feel like a 'boy' or a 'girl' trapped inside. We are tragically lost." This was a completely unnecessary segue and one, I would argue, he knows nothing about. Is it tragic that gender is fluid? Do people really choose gender on a WHIM? Since when? If it COULD be changed on a whim then maybe we would be in a much better world than we are now--not a tragically lost one.
The author repeats himself constantly. This book may have made for a good essay, but it was like he took a 5 page essay and tried to turn it into a book. It was painful. I now have more analogies for masculinity than I have books in my library. I could have lived without that. I felt like I got a small insight into what it might feel like for a man to feel like he was not living up to BEING A MAN. That, in and of itself, is kinda interesting, unexpectedly. But then it just got smothered by words being piled upon words upon words until all meaning was lost.
In other news, Kelly Clarkson recommends it so...
2014
Weight: 12 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating
I did not expect much out of this book, but it surprised me in that in underwhelmed me in totally unexpected ways. It was not sexist or offensive in any way--except for one paragraph that touches just slightly and yet painfully on being transgendered. The author seemed to respect and appreciate women. He was willing to lay his thoughts, feelings, and emotions out there--sometimes in stereo-typically "un-masculine" ways which I really did respect him for.
In the end, I did not like it because of the writing style, the unexpected dig at being transgendered, and the way god looms so heavy over the last few chapters. He writes, "Culture says manhood is not trustworthy or is irrelevant. Gender is a choice--men may become women and vice versa, based on whim or feeling. Children take hormone therapy based on if they feel like a 'boy' or a 'girl' trapped inside. We are tragically lost." This was a completely unnecessary segue and one, I would argue, he knows nothing about. Is it tragic that gender is fluid? Do people really choose gender on a WHIM? Since when? If it COULD be changed on a whim then maybe we would be in a much better world than we are now--not a tragically lost one.
The author repeats himself constantly. This book may have made for a good essay, but it was like he took a 5 page essay and tried to turn it into a book. It was painful. I now have more analogies for masculinity than I have books in my library. I could have lived without that. I felt like I got a small insight into what it might feel like for a man to feel like he was not living up to BEING A MAN. That, in and of itself, is kinda interesting, unexpectedly. But then it just got smothered by words being piled upon words upon words until all meaning was lost.
In other news, Kelly Clarkson recommends it so...
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