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1. The Gift of Fear.

   Excellent book…if read in the proper context. It’s part sales pitch for the author’s business which I don’t begrudge and it’s also (a little) part Hollywood sensationalism because some of the author’s client’s are ‘high profile’. It’s got a couple of gratuitous anti gun statements which I called out in a note to the author which I know he got. The author is clearly a self-centered know it all jerk but get over it fast because the info is top notch.

   +TL;DR: Do read the book because the other two thirds teaches us to trust that gut because, the best thing about this work is that it shows where that gut ‘instinct’ or ‘intuition’ actually comes from. Not where it comes from anthropologically but how your brain captures, analyses, and reports data to your conscious thoughts. Not how you brain does this scientifically but it’s from a very usable self-defense perspective.

   I still refer to this book in my mind when something doesn’t sit right with me. It helps to walk back what it actually was that you heard, saw, or smelled that got sent to your ‘spidey sense’. If you take the lessons well you can even use some of the info while assessing a room upon entry. He doesn’t discuss this specifically but it really helped me to understand why we fear and need to be the most guarded in ‘transition zones’. ( If you carry and don’t know what a transition zone is, you’re doing it wrong!!!)

   I found the story of the rape victim to be immensely instructive. All I’ll say is, I don’t want to spoil it, she did get raped but she managed to save her own life afterwards. She could have avoided it all if she had just listened to what her sub-conscience reported to her conscious awareness. Excellent!

   1. I too have read this book (over a decade ago) and found it immensely valuable. Sounds stupid, but the book gave me what I needed to say no to some questionable situations. I listen to that little voice and say no, which the author explains is something my subconcious has noticed but has not yet reached a point that I can articulate.

      1. Not stupid! Good point. After I hit enter on my little review above that same thing occurred to me, which I had left out, probably because I’m male and dangerous men approach us differently than women.

         It gives us “permission” to act on our intuition. If something ain’t right, leave, get to a public area, or say no VERY FORCEFULLY and don’t back down or think; ‘well, it’s probably ok’.

         Oh and, carry a gun, duh. Which is part of what bugged me about his anti-gun statements; he makes money form folks who can’t or won’t go armed. But in the end it’s just another advert for carry, heh!

2. Everyone should see Nicky’s Family. Such a moving picture that show’s how one man’s action saved so many lives. The Holocaust caused so many deaths, but some stood and helped those who couldn’t help themselves. Excellent movie.

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