Customer Reviews

The Path of Service: Guideposts for Excellence (S/M Tech Educational)

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The description of this book is fairly short and imprecise. Since I expected a LOT more from the author (who wouldn't, with such fanfare the book description gave her), I was disappointed. So I think anyone considering purchasing this book should get a fair account of what's in it.

First of all, do not let it escape your attention that this is a book YOU write. The author has given a prompt or assignment at the top of each page, and you fill out the lines beneath. If you are seeking to learn about the lifestyle, this book should not be your first choice. If you are seeking to learn about yourself, well, this book might be a very good learning tool for you.

To elaborate, if you have been in the lifestyle for a fair amount of time (a year or more on a consistent basis), you have probably already learned anything about the lifestyle that this book can teach you. The lessons are very basic - the sorts of things most of us in the lifestyle (hopefully) learned during our first few months. Do you understand the dynamics of power exchange? Have you come to realize that there is just as much responsibility in submission/service as there is in dominance/acceptance of service? If so, you're beyond what this book can give you.

If you are a Master/Owner with a new partner that you may not know very well, this book might help you get to know your partner better - not only what he/she feels, thinks, and believes, but also what he/she understands about the lifestyle. However, if you have open, honest communication with your partner, then again, this book is probably useless to you. My Master and I love to talk about what we think, feel, and experience together in this lifestyle. Because of that, I found virtually nothing in this book that we had not already discussed. Plus, it's just so much more enlightening when you're talking back and forth. But if you use these prompts and assignments to springboard a conversation, that could work I suppose. But again, only if you don't already communicate well. In addition, the prompts and assignments are very skewed toward what the author has experienced - HER pitfalls, HER interests. If you're a creative Master/Owner in the least, here's an alternate suggestion: Get a three-ring binder, fill it with notebook paper, and write your OWN prompts for your slave. That way, it will tell you exactly what YOU want to know about YOUR slave and have him/her do assignments YOU want.

Probably the group this book is best suited for are people new to the lifestyle. I think it can probably help you articulate what you're feeling inside that perhaps you don't fully understand yet. And it will get you thinking about topics that might not occur to you until you're much more involved. It will not, however, teach you about the lifestyle itself, how to serve, how to behave, what to expect, ways to experience D/s, etc. It only teaches you about yourself and gets you to think about service.

Overall, I'm not in favor of anyone buying this book over other excellent books in the lifestyle that teach. Being thoroughly educated is the most important advice I can give to anyone - especially newbies. If you've done lots of reading and are ready to start applying what you learned, go ahead and get this book.

This workbook is a very useful and inspiring tool for anyone wishing to do some self exploration and grow as a slave. Both veterans of the M/s lifestyle, and those who are just beginning to serve can benefit from the exercises and weekly thoughts the author has included. Making the commitment to complete the weekly and monthly reading/responding/researching process will itself teach discipline and will be a service to one's current or future Owner. This is a wonderful book and I would recommend it to anyone who desires to lovingly serve another.

Parker has handled a difficult aspect of slavery with the sensitivity and practicality necessary to guide others in the art and science of consensual slavery. I eagerly await her next book.

I have been in the lifestyle for less than a year now and have read many, many books on the subject. I have learned a lot and feel that none of my reading materials have been wasted. However, this new book by slavette is the best book that I've read to date that deals directly with those of us struggling to accept our slavery and the lifestyle. Everything is new to me, absolutely everything. Having this book as a guide has been a tremendous help to me assisting me in understanding not only my own wants, needs and desires, but also those of my Master who has already seen a vast improvement in my service to Him.

I recommend that any Dom, Domme, Master or Mistress buy this book and give it to every slave He/She possesses. It explains everything in finite detail and the assignments are easy to understand and complete in a timely manner.

My biggest hope at this time is that slavette go on to write a book that directly addresses the polyamory lifestyle.