Tim Desmond Lmft

informative lighthearted medium-paced

Save your time and money and just read the work of Thich Nhat Hanh, the only saving grace for this book was that it was short.
*** SPOILERS BELOW ***

Honestly, Desmond should have titled this book, "Have I Ever Told You, I Know Thich Nhat Hanh!?". In fact, this book has taught me a very important lesson. From now on, any book that stylizes the word "Fuck" in a way to feign edginess, or that it cares to protect you from profanity in the title, will get an automatic 1 star at the first indication of being hot garbage. More often than not, like their titles, these shit show of books pretend to offer something of interest but fall far short. This book is severely guilty of this. Offers principles and methods that are not original and then waves it in your face. If you want a suggestion for this book, turn it into a drinking game. Take a shot of your favorite hard liquor every time you see the name Thich Nhat Hanh in the book. I guarantee you will be absolutely fucked up by the time you are half way through the book. Maybe this is what the author originally intended when he put the word in the title and meant as a coping mechanism for life.… (més)

This book is written very informally, and presents a worldview derived from Vajrayana Buddhism (which is somewhat more ethereal than Theravada Buddhism, which I’m more familiar with) – specifically, how one can leverage same to retain one’s sanity when confronted with a world that seems to be falling apart, filled with people who project sh*theadedness, and so on.

The author is somewhat notorious for being a hippie-dippie type; he was the co-organizer of the original “Occupy Wall Street” protest (unclear whether commercial publication qualifies as “selling out”). However, he has a compelling life story. Although he quotes his guru a lot – to the point that it becomes a distraction – I found the book to be useful for helping my mind grapple with some of the questions of why the world seems to be falling apart, and why people project sh*theadedness, and how I might perhaps be able to at least contend with such things.… (més)