How To Survive Your Childhood Now That You’re An Adult: A Path to Authenticity and Awakening by Ira Israel: Book Review by Linda Bloom LCSW.
In How To Survive Your Childhood Now That You’re An Adult, Ira Israel ponders the nature of the human mind. Like Eckhart Tolle’s, Israel’s book opens with an examination of how authenticity has different aspects, whether you look at it psychologically, philosophically, or spiritually. One of the reasons that living authentically is so challenging is that we are all trapped in beliefs that affect how we think. Israel demonstrates that in order to establish true authenticity, it is necessary to become aware of our attachment styles, learn how to stop our minds from attempting to change an unchangeable past, know how to truly connect with others, co-create loving, trustworthy relationships, and decide who we want to be and what tools will support us in being those people. Israel’s formula for this is “Authenticity = Attachment, AtONEment, Attunement, Presence and Congruence.”
Every baby goes through an individuation process to become a “self” apart from its mother and/or its primary caretakers. The forces that drive this process influence all of us throughout our lives because we take on attributes of those caretakers in order to gain their love and approval. We also take on the opposite attributes as to establish our own sense of self. As an example, he writes “Note the spate of young people in the last thirty-five to forty years who tattooed their bodies early in life; I see this is a subconscious declaration: “This is my body, and nobody can tell me what to do or what not to do with it anymore (even if you are still paying my rent)!” Both acting a certain way to please people who are probably long gone if not dead, and reacting against those people, are inauthentic.
Israel uses television shows such as “Billions,” and references to comedians such as Larry David, Chelsea Handler, and Marc Maron to make his points. He skillfully weaves together an intriguing psychology of the human experience that explains why so many people suffer from depression and anxiety.
Overall, How To Survive Your Childhood Now That You’re An Adult is packed with valuable wisdom that will benefit anyone who has ever struggled with issues of approval, (which probably includes about 98% percent of the population).The book contains an abundance of practical ideas for how to live a life of authenticity, integrity, and well-being. I highly recommend it. ~ Linda Bloom, L.C.S.W. co-author of 101 Things I Wish I Knew When I Got Married: Simple Lessons to Make Love Last
Ira Israel book How To Survive Your Childhood Now That You’re An Adult: A Path to Authenticity and Awakening can be purchased on amazon.