A Skeptic's Guide to the 12 Steps
by Phillip Z.
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Book Summary Information
Author: Phillip Z.Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1990-06
ISBN: 0894867229
Number of pages: 252
Publisher: Hazelden
Book Reviews of A Skeptic's Guide to the 12 Steps
Book Review: Best book about the 12 Steps I have read!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is not about a superficial glossing over of the 12 Steps. The author takes us on his very personal journey through the steps, and he takes us there on a deeper level than any other book I have read on this subject.
He effectively uses his background as a trained and experienced psychotherapist, but he does not take us through a head journey. He bares his soul, and he shows us the depths to which these ordinary 12 Steps can take us on our own life-changing spiritual experience. He pulls no punches, sugar coats nothing.
I'm not certain that those giving this book a low rating actually read the same book I did, or perhaps they didn't read the entire book. If you read only the first chapter or two, perhaps you would get the impression that this book is nothing more than the same old same old formulaic "this is how I was, this is what happened, and this is what it is like now" 12 step story. But that is far from the whole truth that this book conveys.
Chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7, corresponding to Steps 4, 5, 6, and 7, are worth far more than the price of the book alone!
Perhaps this book speaks to me because I have a similar background and training; perhaps because I, too, have been quite the skeptic; and perhaps again because I, too, have struggled so much with "traditional" ideas of faith and spirituality. I believe, however, that this book has a wide appeal. But even more importantly, it has a "depth" appeal! After just the first reading of this book, I feel I have been invited to live in the deepest depths of wisdom and spiritual experience, to get out of my head only, to leave behind the superficialities that are so common to 12 Step books and meetings, and to plunge into the deeper depths and higher heights of real Step work, a.k.a. real life.
I have dog-eared nearly every other page of this book in the first reading. I plan on reading through this book again often, and soon it will be so marked up as to be almost unreadable. It is also a book I plan on buying and giving to others.
If you are, or know someone who is, struggling with the 12 Steps, skeptical of their real usefulness, and/or perhaps with a background steeped in psychospirituality, this is most definitely the book to read! I highly recommend it to anyone who needs the 12 Step program for oneself and who is a well-educated, trained professional in the arena of helping others, including psychotherapists, counselors, physicians, clergy, professors, attorneys, even spiritual directors. But it is also not just for those more highly educated people. I will caution that those with less educational background may find it too challenging for them, only in terms of not having the educational background to fully understand or appreciate much of what the author shares.
You don't need to struggle with concepts that are just too simplistic to be of help. You no longer need to feel as if you have to check in your education or intellect at the 12 Step meeting door. Let this book show you that there is a DEEPER way to live the 12 Steps, without having to settle for superficiality, over-simplicity, or having to live with a "dumbed-down" version of spiritual experience.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough! I feel that I can FINALLY fully glean the wisdom of life within the guidelines of the 12 Steps, without having to compromise my education, spiritual leanings, or intellectual curiosity!
Thank you, Phillip Z.! You have done us a great service! 10 years after being written, this book is EXACTLY what the doctor ordered! I am so grateful it is still available. I wish it were easily available at libraries.
This book has helped me unlock a river flowing deep within, in a way no other book has ever done.
Summary of A Skeptic's Guide to the 12 Steps
How many of us have felt like Phillip Z? He has a staunch belief in the Twelve Steps, yet struggles with the concept of a Higher Power.In A Skeptic's Guide to the 12 Steps, the author investigates each of the Twelve Steps to gain a deeper understanding of a Higher Power. He examines what may seem like "unsettling" concepts to us including surrendering one's will and life to God, and he encourages us to understand the spiritual journey of recovery despite our skepticism.
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