To all the pages I've read before

At some point when I was reading this I realized that this was a self-help book. I may or may not have shuttered a lot upon that realization. But it is. And that is not a bad thing. The premise foe self-help books is solid. Many books that populate that area of the library, well since they are books it is hard to call them immaterial, but damn it they are. This is not. This is an amazingly relevant book to anyone who regularly breathes and/or thinks. This is important reading. I know many people rarely get angry. This book is still for them. I personally know many people who get angry all the time if not in a permanent state of being pissed off. This book is for them. As stated in the book, even the Dahli Lama admits he gets angry. None of us are immune. It is universal. The real issue is how one deals with their anger. And this book is a guide to recognize how anger can take hold of you, the numerous recesses of self that it can hide in, and how to adapt through the mind/body to find positive outcomes when anger strikes. Leifer presents seven steps one can take to better understand and deal with your anger. He regularly comes back to three questions you should ask yourself either after anger arises or when you notice it arising: "What did I want that I was not getting?What was I getting that I did not want?How did I feel about myself?"They seem very simple, but even as I was reading and reassessing some previous bouts with anger they brought an amazing amount of clarity. He brings his experience with Buddhism and psychotherapy with him in every step and through every example, yet somehow remains amazingly readable, clear, and concise. He never once falls into jargon where you feel you need a postgraduate degree to understand - an amazingly welcome development! He also links anger, aggression, and violence to other symptoms of psychiatry: depression, anxiety, stress, etc. And while he makes clear that they are not always linked, one can often become one due to undressed issues with anger et all. Saying "I am depressed" or "my life is so stressful" have become socially acceptable where "I am angry" draws ire. I really can not recommend this book enough. Its amazingly clear language really make this an enjoyable read and encourages you to take on the difficult project of confronting the roots of your anger and helping to transform them to help make you into a more compassionate person. And really, who would not want that?