Customer Reviews

Life Force: The Psycho-Historical Recovery of the Self (A Quest book)

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As I've continued reading Jean Houston's work, I've found her works tend to be hit or miss. She either hits on some really intriguing ideas, or what she presents just doesn't quite hit the mark. In the case of this book, it's the latter. A lot of the history she draws on is questionable. There's no definitive proof that were matriarchal societies, for instance.

While a lot of the ideas expressed can be of interest and the exercises can be useful for exploration of the self and relation to others, I also find this work to contain a lot of new age psycho-babble. It sounds good on paper, but it doesn't have quite the sophistication of some of her other work.

If you find yourself a fan of her work, pick this book up. I'd still read it with a grain of salt. Try out the exercises. they are useful, but remember you can only journey internally for so long before you need to apply what you have to the world around you.