This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Melinda Hills for Readers' Favorite
Amidst the countless ‘self-help’ books that can be found on bookstore shelves or E-readers, The Breakthrough in Two Acts by Fredric C. Hartman, Ph.D may well be the most significant. Billed as a way of ‘Breaking the Spells of Painful Emotions and Finding the Calm in the Present Moment,’ Dr. Hartman’s unique work clearly defines the source of humanity’s unhappiness and constant quest for ‘more,’ while also addressing the steps to confront the built up painful emotions that cloud our perceptions of the world as we live and experience it each day.
Dr. Hartman contends that our minds are still holding on to the fight or flight responses our ancient forebears depended on for survival, stemming from the limbic system. It is into this mental repository that every disappointment we may have experienced as a child is stored and added up, and the inability to gain satisfaction for these slights is what leads to emotional pain and problems such as frustration, panic, guilt, humiliation, shame, and impatience later on in life. Without our consciousness being able to stand up to the innate pain, we may spiral deeper into emotional un-wellness, which Dr. Hartman sees as a worldwide crisis.
Cleverly written as a stage play between himself and a patient, The Consciousness, The Breakthrough in Two Acts: Breaking the Spells of Painful Emotions and Finding the Calm in the Present Moment by Fredric C. Hartman is amazingly smooth to read and full of wonderful scene titles and quotes so that you know exactly what to expect. There are amazing analogies and comparisons that make the processes of the mind easy to understand so that you really develop a sense of hope if you do, in fact, want to overcome the mental blocks that prevent you from creating a better present and future for yourself. As complex as psychology is, the author has made it quite approachable to countless people - I would almost hope that this text becomes required reading for all teaching, nursing, political science, business, (in fact every subject) students, if not all high school students!