TO LOVE AND BE LOVED

by Sam Keen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1997

The prolific Keen (Hymns to an Unknown God: Awakening the Spirit in Everyday Life, 1994; Fire in the Belly, 1991; etc.) sets out to explore why we obstinately hide from the knowledge that love (of one's family, one's labors, and of some one significant other) ""is the way, the truth, and the life,"" and to suggest how we may deal with those fears and find the kind of love that makes us feel ""rooted"" and secure in our lives. Mixing some frank autobiographical recollections with brief aphoristic explorations of love's nature and rewards, and mingling lists of questions for readers intent on analyzing their behavior with specific examples of those haplessly in pursuit of love in all the wrong places, Keen provides a deft review, often insightful (and even moving), flawed by its declamatory style and somewhat confused organization. More shrewdly self-aware than many self-help books, but still too dogmatic, too much of a fix-it manual, to provide a penetrating and original meditation on love.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1997

ISBN: 0553375288

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Bantam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1997

Categories: NONFICTION