Jerry Waxler – ‘Thinking My Way to the End of the World’
I was sent Jerry’s book to review – thank you! – and have read it with great interest. So many aspects of Jerry’s journey – this youthful search, the almost obsessive quest for answers, and, ultimately, for any peace of mind – resonated with me. As Jerry writes (at page 144)
“All this time I(d) been looking to science for answers, and despite all my intense efforts to understand the material world, my reason for living ha(d) been draining away. I’m so glad I found this.”
And by the time I got to that point in his story, I was glad he found some answers with his spiritual quest too! I heaved a small sigh of relief that this young, earnest and very clever man had discovered some prospect at last, of his very own happy ending, fresh hope at the end of a long, dispiriting trail, the start of a new path.
I would have liked to learn more about why Jerry had ever felt such keyed-up angst in what appeared to be a fairly conventional Jewish up-bringing, and where, perhaps, his particular fears originated. It is true that, as a member of an ethnically distinct group that has been subject to much more than its fair share of persecution, Jerry’s particular worries were understandable; yet not all individuals who are in group that habitually sees itself as persecuted end up in such a state of chronic anxiety and depression.
Perhaps, in a later volume of his autobiographical adventures Jerry might enlighten us. His first volume details the author’s journey from youth until the age of about thirty-five, and it would be very interesting to catch up with his progress in the intervening years. Times change, and I’m sure he has changed too.
This is a well-written, insightful and very sincere look at the particular challenges facing young people in the 1960’s America, which contained many unexpected parallels with my own experiences. An interesting read.
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February 20, 2017
Thinking My Way to the End of the World – by Jerry Waxler
Fran Macilvey Books I Have Reviewed, Fran Macilvey, Memoir 0 Comments
Jerry Waxler – ‘Thinking My Way to the End of the World’
I was sent Jerry’s book to review – thank you! – and have read it with great interest. So many aspects of Jerry’s journey – this youthful search, the almost obsessive quest for answers, and, ultimately, for any peace of mind – resonated with me. As Jerry writes (at page 144)
“All this time I(d) been looking to science for answers, and despite all my intense efforts to understand the material world, my reason for living ha(d) been draining away. I’m so glad I found this.”
And by the time I got to that point in his story, I was glad he found some answers with his spiritual quest too! I heaved a small sigh of relief that this young, earnest and very clever man had discovered some prospect at last, of his very own happy ending, fresh hope at the end of a long, dispiriting trail, the start of a new path.
I would have liked to learn more about why Jerry had ever felt such keyed-up angst in what appeared to be a fairly conventional Jewish up-bringing, and where, perhaps, his particular fears originated. It is true that, as a member of an ethnically distinct group that has been subject to much more than its fair share of persecution, Jerry’s particular worries were understandable; yet not all individuals who are in group that habitually sees itself as persecuted end up in such a state of chronic anxiety and depression.
Perhaps, in a later volume of his autobiographical adventures Jerry might enlighten us. His first volume details the author’s journey from youth until the age of about thirty-five, and it would be very interesting to catch up with his progress in the intervening years. Times change, and I’m sure he has changed too.
This is a well-written, insightful and very sincere look at the particular challenges facing young people in the 1960’s America, which contained many unexpected parallels with my own experiences. An interesting read.
Please share: