Customer Reviews

Porn Nation: Conquering America's #1 Addiction

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Incredible! I just finished reading Porn Nation. Michael Leahy did an awesome job. The book is well written ... it flows great, he is honest and vulnerable ... yet he doesn't mince words ... he tells it like it is.

Porn Nation is the story of one man's battle against pornography and the tremendous toll that it took on him, his wife and his children. He lost everything - his marriage, his job, time with his kids, his friends ... everything. Porn Nation lets the reader know the truth about how pornography slowly but progressively destroys ones values and ones relationships. Leahy reveals how pornography distorts the mind so that women become "porn with skin on" ... killing any chance for true love and intimacy.

The book exposes the many myths and lies about pornography (like porn doesn't hurt anyone!). Leahy explains how porn, especially in the electronic age of Internet and Cell Phones, is easily available to everyone - especially kids ... starting in grade school!

Also, woven throughout his book is what I would call "an anatomy of an affair". Pathological lying, the emotional impact on his wife, his wanting to have both his wife and his "affair partner" at the same time; how he started blaming his wife for the problems in the marriage as a way of dealing with his guilt. Leahy provides a viewpoint of an affair rarely seen ... the viewpoint of the person who was having the affair. This book is a "must read" for those who are dealing or have dealt with an unfaithful spouse.

This book can have an impact on a wide range of people. Parents need to read this book to see how prevalent that viewing porn is by kids of all ages. Older teenagers need to read this book to see how destructive that porn can be. College students will clearly see how porn fuels the desire for multiple sex partners and how it kills any chance of a meaningful, intimate relationship with another person.

Read this book.

As the wife of a recovering Sex Addict I found this to be one of the most recent books (it includes more recent data than many others) about the emerging problem with internet pornography use and it's link to sex addiction... An incredibly fast read (I read it in a day) it kept my interest and offered some interesting facts. It was more entertaining than anything though. After reading many books on this subject in the past few weeks I recommend "Don't Call it Love" by Patrick Carnes for a more in depth look into the problem of sex addiction and how to overcome it.

I think I was looking for something a little bit more academic in scope, a list of facts and figures that dig really deeply into the possible detrimental effects pornography is having on our society. Porn Nation is more of a narative of the author's story, though facts and figures are scattered through the book. Porn Nation is well worth the read though, as the author does a good job of using himself as a case study of how pornography can destroy families, jobs, relationships, and eternal destinies.

I have read the early release version of this book, and it blew me away. Leahy is a good writer that captures the readers attention with the use of realistic language and humor. In the book, he invites the reader to consider the detrimental effects of pornography in people's lives. Leahy courageously shares the story of how pornography, and the sexual culture of America, ruined his family. Also, he goes on to discuss the overall trends of American sexuality, and how it has been affected by sex-saturated media, namely pornography. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the effects that pornography can have on his/her life, and it will shed light on the danger that lies in the porn consumption. Please take the time to read this eye opening book.

I just finished reading a new book. Michael Leahy's book Porn Nation is hands down the single-most compelling book I have ever read. Ever.

This is high praise I know and puts me out there a bit but it's true. The book is a heart-breaking, painful chronicle of Leahy's porn & sex addiction from childhood through to the ultimate breakup of his marriage and family.

Leahy is ruthlessly honest about himself and the destructive nature of pornography. Another powerful aspect of this book is that as he weaves his story of growing addiction Leahy is also telling the story of pornography's explosive growth through technological advancement into western culture and psyche.

Leahy's ex-wife gave him permission to publish excerpts from her journal which provide the reader with a more complete perspective on the nature of the addiction. Her heart-wrenching pleas for renewal in their relationship as well as her temptation to blame herself are very insightful.

Leahy has written a book that is personal testimony, cultural observation, and a guide back to health and wholeness for those enslaved by pornography. I highly recommend this book to both men and women (especially men); to book clubs, couselors, teachers, pastors, parents and of course anyone who may be struggling with an addiction to sex & pornography.

Leahy is the Executive Director of Bravehearts [...], an organization dedicated to raising public awareness about the impact of pornography.

Michael Leahy's story of sexual addiction is all too familiar. He discovers pornography and masturbation as a preteen boy. He gets increasingly fascinated and stimulated by viewing certain magazines. And as a married adult, the hunger for it continues to rage. The advent of internet pornography was like kerosene on the fire, and Leahy's addiction got worse, until he crossed the line into voyeurism and adultery.

It wasn't until he lost his marriage, his family, and an assortment of jobs too numerous to mention that he hits rock bottom. He reaches out to God, and to his new recovery group, and finds healing and forgiveness.

The second part of the book highlights how we are a porn nation, with as many as 21 million sex addictsin this country. Leahy notes that many therapists and counselors still refuse to acknowledge that there is such a thing as sex or porn addiction.

There is also a poignant chapter about the author's friendship with "sex god" Ron Jeremy. The two became friends as they debated each other on college campuses nationwide about whether or not pornography was good or dangerous. Jeremy discloses in this chapter that he is afraid of dying and doesn't think he'll make it to heaven when he dies. Sad stuff, when all Jeremy needs to do is surrender to Christ and ask for forgiveness.

One thing I think this book needed more of was a bigger emphasis on the transformative power of God's word when we apply it to our lives. My first line of defense against sexual temptation is scripture. When I'm tempted to lust or linger on an image or anything like that, I say out loud Ephesians 5:4: "But among you, let there not be a hint of sexual immorality or of impurity or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people." Lots of times, I paraphrase. I shout "NO! God says "Not a hint! Not a peek! Not a thought!" Sometimes, I will use other scriptures like 1 Peter 4:3 or 1 Corinthians 6:18, but this first line of defense seems to be working in my life, and I pray that it will continue to work. Scripture can be life changing for the believer who desires to live life under the authority of the Word of God.

My second line of defense is to say "Honey, I'm struggling right now in my thought life and I need prayer!" This is similar to Leahy's emphasis on recovery with a support group, except that I tell my wife. Some people say you need an objective support person outside of the marriage. That's probably true. I don't have anyone like that right now. Leahy strongly suggest that Christian people need a solid network of support. He gets that from his church in Atlanta, or at least he did until moving to DC.

Leahy convincingly demonstrates that we live in a porn nation with sexual stimuli everywhere, and he challenges us to ask "Do I really want to get well? Do I really want to be free?" This is a very helpful book.

Michael Leahy starts his book off with his own personal addictive issues to sex and pornography that he had, beginning with the root of when he first encountered pornography and masturbation up through his internet pornography obsession and eventual affair. He mentions that he had a constant need to feed his addiction; keeping it a secret from everyone and fooling everyone. It was really well told and interesting to learn of his perspective of the person he used to be.

There is a chapter of the book where he included journal entries from his wife during the time that he became slightly more open with his problems. It was really amazing to read what their children experienced and how she felt throughout that time. It was definitely difficult on her, and sadly ended in a divorce.

He ends the first half of this book about how he was able to escape his 30 year addiction through Jesus' help, after deciding he would end his life - but instead decided to start a new life right as he was preparing to end it. He explains the law of increase/decrease "What you feed grows, and what you starve dies"; the more that he would be around a sense of community of godly people, to pursue his relationship with Jesus, and work on fixing the broken relationships he had - the less he would be interested in his pornography. He has been free from his bondage, but it took a lot of work in starving what he constantly fed for thirty years, while neglecting the important things in life like his relationship with Christ and relationship with his family and friends.

-"...as a sex addict feeds his lustful desires what they long for-sexual images, thoughts, fantasies, and experiences-his sexual compulsivity grows. Feed your sexual impulses with sexual experiences, and your sexual impulsiveness and acting-out behaviors increase."
-"...as you're feeding lust and watching it grow, you're also starving love and watching it die. Feed fantasy relationships, and your fantasy world grows. But in the process, you are starving real relationships, and they will begin to die. Feed yourself a steady diet of pornography, and you'll increasingly view women as degraded sex objects-you'll sexualize and objectify all women. And in the process of doing that, you'll have fewer and fewer thoughts and images representing a healthy view of women as caring, loving, feeling individuals worthy of your admiration and respect. As you starve your mind of those healthy images of women, the idea or concept of women being anything but sex objects continues to die and fade away."
-"...For instance, instead of 'feeding' myself sexual images from cable TV or the internet, I'd 'starve' myself of them. And if I found that I was 'starving' myself of healthy relationships by isolating, I would look for opportunities to 'feed' myself by getting more socially involved."


The second half of the book is where he talks about the general statistics and what the mass majority of porn and sexual addicts go through, including the "sex generation" of kids today. I'd like to share a bit of what stood out most in this second half to me (he does have everything cited as well throughout this section).

-"The amount of sexual content on basic cable and network television found that the number of sex scenes nearly doubled between 1998 and 2005."
-"One recent study on teens found that watching sex on television increases the chances a teen will have sex, and may cause teens to start having sex at younger ages."
-"The average American consumer is exposed to over 14,000 sexual images and messages every year, most of which objectify women and base their value on their body shape and size."
-"The average age of first exposure to commercial pornography is somewhere between 11 and 14. But with one in four children in nursery school (ages 3, 4, and 5) going online, that average age is sure to drop."
-"With studies showing us that over 80% of teens age 15-17 have had multiple exposure to hard-core pornography, it's hard to imagine that pornography wouldn't play some role in influencing the sexual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of this generation."
-"Studies have shown that adolescents who watch television with high levels of sexual content are twice as likely to initiate sexual intercourse and also more likely to initiate other sexual activities. And teens with high levels of exposure to rap videos, which often promote drug use, violence, and sex, are significantly more likely to acquire an STD."
-"27% of teens between the ages of 13 and 16 are now sexually avtive. In fact, over half of teens ages 15-19 say they've had oral sex, and nearly half (42% of guys and 33% of girls ages 15-17) have had intercourse."
-Girls see 400 advertisements per day telling them how they should look.
-"The Kaiser Family Foundation found that 60% of teens cited that 'many of their friends had already done it' as a factor influencing their decision to have sex, and a similar number believed that their peers think having sex by age 15 is socially acceptable."
-"59% of girls age 12-19 agree that society tells them that attracting boys and acting sexy is one of the most important things girls can do."


This quote especially stood out to me.
"So we trade our history of sexual conservatism and naivety for a new kind of sexual freedom and worldly awareness that commercializes sexuality and turns it into a form of self-abuse. And we look around to see if innocence still exists, all we find are 'barely legal' porn sites and girls 'going wild' for their first time"

The rest of the book discusses how to recognize if you have a sexual addiction, how to approach or admit it, what to do if you do have one, and what you can do to help it. It also gives a lot of information of how the brain works and how the addictions can grow or be fixed in a healthy way.

"As pornography repeatedly triggers intense sexual arousal, our brain produces more and more dopamine, keeping us trapped in an intense cycle that mimics the early stages of infatuation, romance, and lovesickness. Overstimulate the brain with dopamine long and often enough, and the brain will adapt by increasing its tolerance levels. The result of increased tolerance is desensitization, similar to what an alcoholic or drug addict experiences after repeated use and abuse of their drug of choice."

"As long as the relationship between pornographic sexual stimulation and experiencing sexual satisfaction continues, the use of artificial sexual stimulants like pornography and out-of-bounds sexual behaviors (prostitutes, strip clubs, massage parlors, etc) will only serve to increase their sexual compulsivity."

Overall I truly enjoyed reading and learning from Michael Leahy's experience and research on the subject. He goes to various college campuses to discuss and debate with former porn-star Ron Jeremy quite often (which he also talks about in a whole chapter at the end of the book, which was quite interesting to read). It is amazing to see how God can transform and help anyone out of such a long-stemmed addiction.

Michael Leahy combines spiritual memoir with a Barna-like presentation of stats alongside a self-help volume. That's the quick overview of the book Porn Nation. Writing from a first-hand perspective about the destructive nature of porn and sex addiction, Leahy recounts his own downfall and losses as a result of his addiction, and about the long road to freedom.

While obviously centered around the redemptive power of Christ, the book does not come across as preachy. In the vein of all good spiritual memoirs, every mention of Jesus is a "what He did for me" relationship. The second third of the book has page after page of statistics and evidence that leaves you convinced of the porn problem in our nation--if you were not convinced already. Pointedly, the revelation of the number of people who call themselves Christ-followers who are also porn viewers should raise a red flag and make us all take a good, hard look at our own churches. How can we reach out to those members of our own congregations and let them know the church is a safe place for them to reveal their addiction and ask for help?

I think Porn Nation might just be one of those books churches should buy in bulk and then give out to their men for free. The result might be pretty astounding. I would recommend this book be read by every Christian male, especially ministers, whether they have a porn problem or not.

I just got done reading the book last week and WOW, did it really open my eyes to just how addictive pornography can be. I am a recovering sex & porn addict myself and have been clean and sober since Nov. 1999!

The book flowed well and was extremely well-written with just enough personal stories to keep me interested; to show me the depth and breadth of this addiction, but without a lot of the personal/sordid details that would turn me away from such a book.

I have a private practice specializing in this issue. I also do a lot of speaking on this topic as well and let me tell you: I will be strongly recommending this book to not only my clients, but also the attendees of my seminars and I will be presenting this book at my church and we will be studying it!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is either addicted or just wants to learn more about this kind of addiction.

Michael, thank you for being bold and brave and sharing your personal journey or pain and healing!


Omar Miranda
Abundant Life Ministries
Cartersville, GA

One of the best books I've ever read concerning sex addiction recovery. The author brings you in to his world to show just how ugly the addition can truly get. He's not a Dr but he provides real world insights. I recommend it to all recovering addicts!