A. Volzer

healer/author, heal thyself first before peddling snake oil cures

Revisado: 01-06-24

wow, this book has single-handedly made the lives of disabled and neurodivergent people in the US miserable, even calling out famous autistic adults as examples of failed people. the popularity of this book and basis in social "facts" that strip away all the context creates a hegemonic culture of fake happiness cures. if psychological issues had snake oil salesmen, this would be it. if only the pursuit of happiness was that black and white. all it does is create a new standard for people to feel shamed they cant live up to.

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deceptive

Revisado: 12-31-23

on one hand, really weird use of radically leftist/progressive case studies such as Barcelona and slums in India as examples of conservative values by conveniently leaving out the history of why those areas are doing the things the author values (aka, they avoided BOTH the tragedies of centralized bureaucratic government and local elite capture). on the other hand, uses rhetoric and tropes that fail to confront how they replicate some of the most problematic social experiments in our history, from antebellum reconstruction labor markets to eugenics ideology baked into 20th century policies to conflating the material comfort and psychology of the middle class that depends on corporate colonialism and modern imperialism with the desperation from the high cost of living of the bottom 20% of America, which labor markets by design keep unemployed to "fight inflation". furthermore, his four keys to happiness are interpretations of deeper research that is about having spiritual meaning, a loving and supportive home life, and agency at work and their community that allows for democratic participation. those CAN translate into faith, the nuclear family, community, and meaningful work... but it also means simply having spiritual meaning, a loving and supportive home no matter what kind of family structure, and the infrastructures of physical and social opportunity that gives people choice in their lives to pursue the ability to cocreate the community and workplaces they are embedded within.

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how to mask, adhd style

Revisado: 01-03-23

basically another diatribe on how ND people can sucessfully mask as NTs. i wish it was emphasized that adhd is not a deficit in mindfulness, even though mindfulness can be helpful.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Social Darwinist BS

Revisado: 10-15-22

as a fellow "gifted" individual who studies giftedness from a sociological point of view, this book makes me nauseous. it could be lifted straight out of the 1890s, or the late 1940s... aka the height of the American Eugenics Movement. Read the novel Earth Abides and you will see the argument for all its teleological, wealthy white supremacy as the "savior" civilization building race. i gave up after 4 hours of the book. the gifted are not the evolutionary destiny of humanity deserving of liberation from the slowpokes. we have specific cognitive skills that allow us to perceive the world in different ways. if you find meaning in that ability, good for you. that doesnt mean being treated poorly and developing mental health problems means liberation in the guise of taking on the hero's cape, deserving of great destiny as some sort of plato's wisdom kings.

i gave it two stars because the narrator deserves better than this.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

a history book

Revisado: 08-11-22

i waited nearly a year after diagnosis and listening to a dozen other books of narrower scope before listening to this. i knew it was a key book and i wanted to be sure i fully grasped the nuances. i am really glad i did that. this book is a history book about autism and contextualizes everything up to the moment when adult autistics grabbed the reins and reframed the field as neurodiversity. the past ten years since this has been written has seen a profound shift in how the autistic community sees itself. while still very relevant, it should be noted that this is a historical account and SHOULD NOT be used to understand who autists are and what they are capable of and what we have to overcome today.

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the better question is not ROI but what percentage

Revisado: 07-22-22

the better question is not ROI but what percentage of men think like this, or accept this basic premise?

best ROI... get 4 tatoos to avoid them.

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a new minimum standard

Revisado: 07-21-22

this is the history book on the topic of black slavery and US national identity in the US that sets a new minimum standard. when these stories are absent in the official public record and education system, and censorship runs rampant, then the context of current events is lost. the authors commentary and self reflection on the material in light of current events is the type of scholarship americans should demand of their academics- dogged devotion to emotional blindness was always a tactic by the white establishment to normalize horror.

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well researched and grounded

Revisado: 07-14-22

after living abroad and traveling widely off the beaten tourist path I returned to school to study community conflict and local political trends as a grad student. i frequently have trouble discussing what i know about the state of our country, especially with the educated liberal urbanite. there does not seem to be a good understanding on the left of how far down the path of civil war we already find ourselves, or how dangerous the present moment is. i am glad to have a book to recommend.

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not an expose on Robert McNamara

Revisado: 07-13-22

This is not an expose on Robert McNamara or his legacy, but rather the feelings of a son watching shadows on the cave walls. i bought this because i wanted to read what craig had to say before going to his presentation/book signing at his alma mater. i listened to the first 7 chapters where Craig describes a sheltered childhood and the process of discovering who his father is from the polite or implied actions and remarks of others. coming from a political family myself, if you are going to burn the house down by going public, this is more like setting the trash can on fire in your bedroom and hoping it catches the curtain. maybe im just a jaded millennial who has only known the shocking politcal content of post 9/11 through Trump and traveled a but too much, or i've read too much on the censored history of US political economy and its military project over the past century and expected some real dirt. or i took the title too literally. it is good for what it is, a memoir of a son who grew up in the shadow of political greats, but it isnt about the lies his father told.

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this is a male fantasy...

Revisado: 05-27-22

Basically a time traveling porno. i have no problem with adult themes, but at the point of complete disconnection with biological realities of having a female body, I couldnt stomach it any more. One of the best readers I've encountered on Audible and would have stopped listening a lot sooner otherwise.

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