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SusanofO -> RE: Books you'd recommend and why (7/28/2007 9:47:30 PM)
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Two recent books I read that I really liked are:
"Seth Speaks" by Jane Roberts - Is about answers to some of life's greatest mysteries written by woman who, since the late 1960's, had channelled a spirit (who calls himself a "personality without a body") called Seth. "Seth" reveals answers to her about many of life's mysteries re: What happens when we our bodies die, and about what is on "the other side".
According to the author, Jane Roberts ,(who died in the late 1980's), this spirit "Seth" channelled his "answers to life's most important questions" though her 3 nights a week for decades - and he requested she write a number of books about what he had to say. Whether you believe in an after-life or not, it is probably going to be found pretty compelling reading by more who choose to read it. The book is very long (over 500 pages) and I could not put it down. It is one of several books in a series she wrote that was dictated to her via her chanelling the spirit "Seth". It has been used by several religion classes in high schools and colleges as part of the curriculum for students for many years (I just discovered the "Seth" series this Summer, but apparently the series of books has been in print for several years).
and I also liked : "The Sociopath Next Door" by Matha Stout, Ph.D. - According to statistics, 4 of every 100 people is a bona-fide sociopath. Which of course means they have absolutely no conscience, and live their lives doing whatever they please with no fear of the consequences (except possibly prison but many times not even prison stops them) from behaving just as they please, no matter who it hurts. This is a highy readable and interesting book with "case histories" of sociopaths that seem "normal" in every way (at least as adults)- except they're not.
The book describes how to recognize a true sociopath, and how to deal with one (the crux of the advice being either stay away, or maintain a "cautious distance", if possible). The book claims that most people have probably encountered a genuine sociopath, in some context (at work, or at school, or in the neighborhood where they live), by the time they are 35-40 years old, and gives fascinating advice on how to cope with a true sociopath. It explains why some people can be hard to pinpoint as "true" sociopaths, and why many sociopaths who do commit crimes, remain un-prosecuted for the crimes they commit.
The book describes a true sociopath as a mere "shell" of a real human being, as a person who lacks depth, or an ability to get much real meaning from life, whose goal is not to have real relationships with other people, but to use them for whatever they can get from them, and then move on; people whose lives lack real meaning, who value nobody except themselves, and who often are terribly lonely but honestly don't know why, as a result.
*After reading the book, I identified one of my ex-bosses as a sociopath (truly) and also an old neighbor. Wish I'd had this book to read when I knew them (neither of those people is in my life any longer), as it would have been a good "coping tool".
Fascinating reading. After I read this book, I had a discussion with my father's new GF (who is a therapist) and asked if she agreed with what the book had to say, and she did. She said the saddest cases of sociopathic behavior she'd dealt with are parents who had adopted a child who had sociopathic traits, and didn't know how to deal. There is stong evidence in the book that true, enduring sociopathic traits are mostly genetically inherited, and the parents had been model, wonderful parents, and had a son who was stealing cars and dealing drugs and stealing from them, with no end in sight, and he had no remorse for any of his behavior at all, and they didn't know how to deal. They feared he would end up in prison for life, etc.
She told them the best they could do is be very clear about what behavior they will and won't tolerate from him, and follow through with any consequences if he breaks their rules, as that is the way he will be dealt with by society as well (whether he likes it or not). Anyway, it was a very interesting book.
- Susan
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