Customer Reviews

While I Am Not Afraid: Secrets of a Man's Heart

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This is Peter Clothier's memoir, a brief look back at how he grew up so emotionally constricted and angry and in pain, as well as the history of a couple of hard years in his life, the years when he had to deal with his college-age daughter's anorexia and mental disturbance. He starts out feeling as though life has given him a rough deal, is frustrated at how fame evades him, is anguished over not being closely enough involved in raising his sons from his first marriage. Then he starts exploring. By means of a men's support group, something called the Warrior Monk organization, chanting and body work, Clothier learns a great deal about his inner life and what is important to him. By the end, at his daughter's graduation from college and engagement to a young man, Clothier gets in touch with his spiritual side and discovers his own capacity for healing others.

The writing is crisp and forthright. You can clearly see this man learning about himself and his skewed perceptions. Personally, though I appreciated the honesty and welcomed the peek into his emotional life, I was less comfortable with his acceptance of some New Age-ish concepts. Nevertheless, we have too few real men's stories, and this one fills the gap admirably and engagingly.

"No explorer who pioneered a new frontier ever showed more unbridled courage and heart than Peter Clothier when he ventures into and exposes the uncharted territory of his most private, tender, and raw wounds resulting in the creation of a sacred and safe space of healing for us all. This is required reading in the field of Higher Education as Peter is truly a hero, a guide, and a light for the Millenium."

Dr. Carol Adams, President, Association for the Integration of the Whole Person University