Customer Reviews

The Bondage of Self

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The annals of literature are filled with stories of soured marriages, bitter custody battles and personal recovery and redemption. What makes Kirsten Helene Kaiser's book both notable and unique is that it takes place against the backdrop of the white nationalist movement in the United States.

Ms. Kaiser was formerly married to Kevin Alfred Strom, the host of American Dissident Voices and a prominent member of the National Alliance, perhaps the largest and best organized white nationalist organization in America. The National Alliance was founded and led by the late Dr. William L. Pierce, best known as the author of "The Turner Diaries" which purportedly served as a catalyst for Timothy McVeigh's bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

However, this book is not about either the National Alliance or the white nationalist movement. It is an intense and deeply personal story of one woman's struggle to defeat the demons in her life and, in the process of recovery, find peace and a renewed sense of meaning. There is a cathartic quality to the book which is at once both inspiring and disquieting.

This is Ms. Kaiser's first book and, to her credit, she doesn't give the appearance of holding anything back This is her story. This is her book. This is very much the truth as she sees it. She appears to be entirely unconcerned with making herself look good; there are one or two occasions where she presents herself to the reader in a manner which invites understanding, but not sympathy and that is rare for a book of this genre.

At the same time, while Ms. Kaiser doesn't present her former husband as either a likable or a sympathetic figure (and this is not a surprise given their divorce), neither does she demonize him. Mr. Strom is omnipresent in this book and he emerges as a flesh-and-blood human being and not as a stereotype. (It must be noted that Ms. Kaiser and Mr. Strom have since married other partners and that each of them appears quite happy with their respective spouses).

I must confess that the elements of the book that dealt with the marital/custodial issues made me most uncomfortable. There are always two sides to every dispute and while I understood that these issues are an integral part to Ms. Kaiser's story, as a reader I felt tremendously saddened by the tragic elements that accompany marital dissolution and custody disputes. (I still don't know, for example, whether to say I am sorry or congratulations when someone I know tells me they are divorcing. Even when it is necessary, there is still an element of hurt for everyone concerned that is deserving of compassion).

The sections of the book that addressed Ms. Kaiser's journey toward recovery and spiritually (she has embraced Catholicism) are nothing short of remarkable. Ms. Kaiser appears more objective about herself than she occasionally is about the other personages who inhabit her story. The mirror she uses to reflect herself shows a person with flaws and she does not allow herself to lapse into becoming a strident voice for moral rectitude. She becomes more perfect by her imperfections and, by showing us her vulnerabilities, she becomes more admirable.

With respect to the author's style, I found the early sections of the book tough going, principally due to the extensive use of quotations. This had a "ping-pong" effect on this reader. As a general rule, and this reflects my personal biases, I find an extensive use of quotations reads like a transcript. I feel these parts of the book would have been improved by paraphrasing and minimizing the verbatim quotes.

Since nit picking has become de rigeur in reviews, I will engage in one: The name of historical revisionist Ernst Zundel is recorded as "Zundle" in the copy of the book I read. This is simply unfortunate and not a substantive issue.

Other than these points, the book is well written and effectively organized. Ms.Kaiser's inclusion of writing assignments she produced as part of her journey toward recovery were particularly effective and their inclusion here is inspired.

"The Bondage of Self" is a valiant effort by a first-time author to come to grips with her life and times (and she is still a young woman). It will tug at your heart and tear at your gut. It may anger you, it may have you shaking your head in amazement, it may inspire you. One of the things it will not do is leave you feeling apathetic. In the final analysis it is this last point, having an impact on the reader, that is the true measure of an author.