Recommended Book List

RECOMMENDED BOOK LIST

February 15th 2015

'Leaving the Fold' - by Marlene Winell

     Described by the author as 'a guide for former fundamentalists and others leaving their religion', I cannot emphasis enough how valuable this book has been for me.

     Another endorsement of the book reads: 'Leaving the Fold is a unique and invaluable guide to the psychological harm done by Christian fundamentalism. Dr. Winell's book is practical, relevant and altogether real.'

     I would whole heartedly recommend this as essential reading for anyone struggling to come to terms with the damaging influence of CF. It has helped me to make more sense of the emotional confusion and the self defeating thought processes and has empowered me on my journey.

      

February 22nd 2015

Here is a list of some of the many other books I have read which have helped me on my journey. I will add to this list as time and further reading allow:
 

'Home Coming' - by John Bradshaw




Absolutely pivotal book to my development. I cannot express just how much this text helped me in developing my awareness of and acquaintance with my wounded inner child. One of my top recommendations for anyone struggling with inner hurt.

'Beyond Belief' - by Peter Spink

A very influential gem. Really confirmed for me the incredible validity of my own intuitive awareness
  
'Beyond Belief provides guidelines and signposts to help you in your intuitive, spiritual and mystical development...
'It is for everyone who is seeking a God they can know and experience directly ... this book directs you towards a dimension within yourself where such a God can be found.' (Cover comments)

'Perfect Love Imperfect Relationships' - John Welwood 

'This book takes us on a healing and transformative journey to address the real, underlying cause of our relationship problems. John Welwood is one of the most brilliant and important teachers of our time.' Debbie Ford - (Cover comment)

'The Divided Mind' - John E. Sarno M.D.

Superb book exploring the relationship between chronic pain/psychosomatic disorders and repressed emotions. Highly recommended.

'Father and Son' - Edmund Gosse

Edmund Gosse's autobiography recounting his childhood 'as a member of a Victorian Protestant sect and his struggles to forge his own identity despite the loving control of his father.' (Cover comment)

'Men Who Can't Love' - Steven Carter and Julia Sokol

Very useful early reading for me when I first began to realise I had some issues which needed resolving

'If I'm So Wonderful, Why am I Still Single?' - Susan Page

Another extremely helpful text in those early days when I was beginning to explore the nature of the dilemma I was facing. Highly recommended.





                                   

 

'Mud, Sweat and Tears' - Bear Grylls 

Sometimes the way forward out of the clutches of CF can be incredibly tough and painful. I'm no action man on the outside (well not like Bear) but by hell I'm determined to pull through on the inside. Reading this book fired my soul with a renewed determination to keep fighting and to never give up! A great inspirational read.

                     
 




 'True Grit' - Bear Grylls

 Another great inspirational read

'The Power of Now' - Eckhart Tolle


It can be very difficult recognising and letting go of ingrained modes of thinking and well established patterns of looking at life (especially when these have been so systematically applied) and I think because of this I found it rather hard to grasp and retain the concepts in this book. However, working with two of Tolle's other books - 'Practising the Power of Now' and 'A New Earth' - helped me to get over the hurdles and embrace some very valuable teaching.

'Practising The Power of Now' - Eckhart Tolle


A very helpful aid in making the most of the above text

'A New Earth' - Eckhart Tolle             

I found this to be a much easier to follow explanation of Tolle's teaching and learned a great deal from it. A good book to revisit from time to time.

'Spare The Child' - Philip Greven

A useful study of the religious roots of physical punishment for children and its psychological impact. Areas examined include: anxiety, fear, anger, hate, depression, obsessiveness, dissociation, paranoia, sadomasochism, the apocalyptic impulse and more. Greven is well aware of the Protestant/fundamentalist emphasis on corporal punishment for children

'The Gospel According to Woman' 
Karen Armstrong

Sub-titled - 'Christianity's Creation of the Sex War in the West'

An in depth view of centuries of Christian repression of women and sex.
This really is an extremely good study of the subject.

'Sex and God' - Darrel Ray

Sub-titled - 'How Religion Distorts Sexuality'

A thoughtful, factually based common sense approach to the subject of sex and religion 

'Up' - Ben Fogel 

A great source of inspiration and encouragement not to let life get you down but to look up to the heavens and see the possibilities out there for your life. I really enjoyed reading this book and got a lot out of it

'Leaving Fundamentalism' - Editor - G.Elijah Dann

A compilation of personal stories of people from a variety of religious backgrounds who have faced the struggle to be free of CF. A real source of encouragement.

'Letters From an Extreme Pilgrim' - Peter Owen-Jones
A truly inspirational read with some encouraging spritiual insights and advice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'The Devil - Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to primative Christianity' - Jeffrey Burton Russell

 

An historical and scholarly study of the development of the concept of the Devil in ancient and Biblical thought. The section on the origins of notions of the Devil in the New Testament is of particular interest.