Customer Reviews

The Wounded Spirit

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Frank Peretti is well-known for novels about spiritual warfare. This is the first non-fiction book he has written and it will impact your life dramatically!!

Peretti tells his own story (which he hasn't told openly until only recently) of growing up with a medical condition that left him disfigured and also small and underdeveloped for his age.

The first chapter "A Boy's Hell" describes the scene in the boys' locker room when Peretti was in junior high. His story is powerful - you will never forget it! It is brutally honest and it is also hard to read. Your heart goes out to this young boy who has had to endure so much torment at the hands of his peers.

The horrific treatment followed him into high school, until finally someone showed an interest in him and in so doing, helped stop the chain of abuse in Peretti's life.

The Wounded Spirit is not about only kids being mean and abusive to other kids. This is about our society and how we treat each other. He points out how these problems are also present in adult relationships. He calls the strong people (who might perhaps be the ones being mean) to be the protector of the less strong.

Instead of merely telling a moving story and outlining the problem, Peretti has good constructive things that can be done about it. He has advice for the wounded and for the wounders! He has advice for teachers and other adults in charge in those situations where kids are being wounded by other kids.

Ultimately, healing can only come through Jesus Christ - through Him, we can break this cycle of victimization and abuse.

I read this book expecting a somewhat dry and mostly academic approach. The book states right off that it is real, not fiction, and since I love his fiction work so much I expected something very different. But I was mistaken; the book grabs you from the first sentence.

His autobiographical tales of school age terror were depicted with harsh reality and deep sadness. I found myself emotionally caught up in the feelings I think almost everyone can relate to: feeling rejected and hurt by others. In this case, physical abnormalities led to some cruel treatment, the feelings to which were depicted with stark reality. This is really three books in one. The first section is the autobiography. The second topic is the subject of WHY people treat others in such a cruel manner, including some compelling arguments against moral relativism highlighted by correlations to the Columbine incident. According to the author (and myself) it is strange that moral relativism is becoming more and more accepted as a valid philosophy, yet these same people who believe there is no moral truth, since all truth is relative, are shocked by what happened at Columbine. The author asks: Isn't Columbine a natural result of that philosophy? Was what happened there"wrong"? Since everyone agrees that it was "wrong" then why was it wrong? Wouldn't there have to be a moral code by which to even judge the tragedy as "wrong"?

He closes the book with some excellent thoughts on how teachers, parents, and all of us can support each other. He illustrates in some powerful ways how the spirit, once wounded, stays wounded for a long time! The arrows of hurt, the taunts, the words of ridicule, wound our spirit and those wounds continue to hurt us indefinitely unless we turn them into something positive through forgiveness. He uses the movie "A Few Good Men" as an example of what we are supposed to do morally. When the soldier at the end answers the statement by his fellow soldier of "we did nothing wrong" he says "yes we did, we were supposed to fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves, we were supposed to fight for Willie". If you have not seen the film, please do so. A great illustration of his point that we need to stand up for those who are being hurt and protect them, as even small gestures of humanity can enable change.

Overall, a very powerful message of hope and redemption, well written and supported.

This book is a MUST for anyone who is involved in any kind of parenting or leadership of children and teen-agers. Mr. Peretti has bared his soul in order to help prevent another incident such as the Columbine High School massacre. It is also literary balm for victims of bullying or abuse, young and old. There is already a strong following as can be seen by going to the Wounded Spirit web site. I encourage everyone to read this book and pass it on; it is time for a change in how we view and treat other people.

My wife found this book and read it. She then asked me to read Chapter 9 and tell her what I thought. Well, I didn't have to think for long. We ended up reading the book cover to cover, aloud, as a family, one chapter per night with discussion afterward.

The first few chapters set the stage for the source of his (Peretti's) wounding - physical deformity and being physically smaller than his peers. But with each page, the list of examples of how a spirit can be wounded grows. Do you have a wounded spirit? Can you remember who wounded you? Can you remember whom you have wounded? The answer is yes to all of the questions.

There can be a happy ending, and that is the good news. The cure exists for bullies. All it takes is those who have witnessed bullying day after day, year after year, and accepted it as a fact of life, to stand up and say NO. I refuse to accept this behavior. There is no place here for bullies. The few who bully others only survive and flourish because the rest of us stand meekly by and let it happen. With a united front it can end just that quickly.

But make no mistake about it, Mr. Peritti accurately points out the fact that quite a number of the bullies are that way themselves (bullies), because they too have had their spirit wounded.

This is a must read for anyone who deals with people of all ages on a daily basis: especially school administrators, teachers and classroom aides in the public and private school systems - no school year should begin without a day devoted to this book. But it does not end there. It is an equally important read for administrators and supervisors in the work place, parents with children; the clergy of all faiths; and counselors - individual, group and family.

I plan to share this work with the middle school and high school administration, and the county school board. It is that good.

Frank Peretti's fame as a Christian horror writer can easily be understood once you read this soul-baring, heart-rendering account of his early life. Focusing somewhat on the tragedy at Columbine, Peretti tells us of his own wounded spirit at the hands of bullies and insensitive people during his school days. Peretti relates the story of the night of his birth, when his father had to replace a tire in a raging snowstorm. The faith his parents have in God is awesome and he uses a quite unusual object to aid in his repair of the wheel.
Peretti is never self-pitying, and he offers some really wonderful insight into the reason bullying is such a devastating occurrence to a withdrawn, self-conscious young male. I'm sure many male readers can share in the terrors that awaited the "different" in phys ed class and the showers.
Peretti then goes on to suggest ways we can heal our wounded spirits, and stand up for what we believe in. He also tells us that when we wound, we too should ask for forgiveness.
This is not a preachy book, it is well written, and it can be read easily in one or two sittings. It's a joy to read someone who has such faith in his Lord, and is willing to share his past with those who have also been there.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Like millions of readers, I fell in love with Frank Peretti's book, "This Present Darkness" and have followed his writings from book to book. Peretti introduced many believers and non-believers to the reality of "Spiritual Warfare" through his novels, but the demons revealed in this book may be the most frightening. This would be a priceless gift for someone you know that has been wounded by the past, or treat yourself to a book that will force you to look inward. Be aware: You may not like what you find in there, but you will realize that you are not alone. By all means, get this book!

As an extremely overweight child (and adult) I suffered through more than my fair share of teasing, taunting, and bullying. When I, with my somewhat volatile temperment, would make some weak attempt at retaliation, I found that I would usually be the one to get punished for it by the "authorities". That was rather confusing to me. Something about that did not seem right. Finally, here is someone with similar experiences with the courage to write about it. Here is someone who agrees with what I knew deep down inside all along, that something is terribly wrong with a society that refuses to take a stand against bullying and abuse, and even implicitly encourages it.

Peretti writes this book for the wounded, for those who wound, and for those who have found themselves on both sides of that fence. He writes about the way things could be if society is bold enough to change its mindset and take action. If things don't change, more Columbine-type incidents are inevitable. I hope and pray that this small book inspires more writings on this subject, and more importantly, the healing of thousands of wounded spirits.

Frank Peretti has said some things that need to be said about the pecking orders that exist in adolescent society. With the many school shootings, often by victims of schoolyard bullies, that have happened over the last few years, it has become painfully obvious that writing off such bullying with the time-honored excuse "Boys will be boys" does not hold water.

Mr. Peretti gives his own personal story about how cruel children can be, and how insensitive those in authority (the gym teacher was his example) can be. The abuse that he faced was for a problem over which he had no control, not that the bullying types care.

Mr. Peretti directs his book, not just at the bullies, but at those who are bullied and then do some bullying of their own. This is the most perplexing question: how is it that those who are bullied can, knowing what it feels like, can turn around and become bullies? This book is for the bullies and the bullied alike.

Unfortunately, Mr. Peretti's warning may fall on a lot of deaf ears - especially parents of such bullies. Many fathers like their sons to be "tough" (you can spell it "M-E-A-N"), and what better way to show how "tough" you are than to bully those who can not or will not fight back. They figure that the best way to not be bullied is to BECOME the bully (remember Tacitus - "They terrify, lest they should fear." How about Colonel Kurtz from "Apocalypse Now" - "You must make horror your friend; otherwise it is your enemy.")

This book is a five-star manifesto against the "Social Darwinism" that has become disgracefully accepted in our schools. If the schools and the parents do not wake up, then scenes like Columbine will be both past AND prologue. A must read!

I finished this book in about six hours. I couldn't put it down. There were many similarities between Frank Peretti's experiences and mine (many of my living nightmares occured on the school bus). How many people could say the same? Just about all of us, I'm sure. With each page came a childhood memory (and more than a few adult ones) - unpleasant memories of being taunted, bullied, rejected, even physically mistreated. Now I know that I have a lot of company out there. Thank you, Frank, for sharing your life and letting me know that I'm not alone.

I was going to say that THE WOUNDED SPIRIT should be required reading for all parents and educators. But that would be too limiting. What about employers, co-workers, policemen, ministers, doctors, waiters? What about our relatives, friends, and neighbors? Is there anyone who hasn't been wounded or isn't guilty of inflicting spiritual wounds?

This book is for you if you were ever bullied or mistreated in any way; if you did the bullying or cast the insults; if you stood by and watched these things happen to others and did nothing. I guess that means THE WOUNDED SPIRIT is for every single one of us.

For years I have believed that the emotional scars we carry are a result of deep wounds that were inflicted so long ago that we may have all but blocked them from our memory. Sadly, the scars are still there, and I think they often run deeper than some of the most traumatic physical wounds we may suffer.

But, as Peretti points out, God can work through our wounds, and even heal them. Jesus walked the earth healing a multitude of afflictions, and He is still at work today. Peter wrote, "...by His wounds you were healed." (1 Peter 2:24) If you've never read a Christian book, please read this one, especially if you are a parent or work within the educational system. You may be God's instrument in bringing calm to a child filled with rage and frustration, a ticking time bomb waiting for the next insult, sneer, or shove to drive him or her over the edge to a tragic act of violence such as suicide or, worse yet, another Columbine massacre.

The Wounded Spirit was wonderful! Although Peretti normally writes fiction, this book has his real life story that makes you really think about if you have a wounded spirit or if you are the person who is causing a wounded spirit. Peretti tells us his view on what it is like to be a wounded spirit and also explains his view of the recent school shootings. This book is worth it's price and an excellent read.