Honoring the Self: Self-Esteem and Personal Tranformation

Two sections are absolutely incredible in this book-- that of "Rational Self-Interest" and "Death Anxiety". Dr. Branden uses REASON as his perfect way to convey his ideas. He is the first author in this area, that does not look at self-esteem as if it is something by itself that you "work on". Instead, he reveals what it really is, and how it comes about from REAL choices and actions; thus, it is based in reality. Dr. Branden's books are rare to me in that I read them almost continually; while other books are useful and good, I would put them on my shelf and re-read them only occassionally. I am ALWAYS reading at least one of Branden's books at any time, continually.

I can't say enough about how reading this book changed my life.
I have read several of Branden's other books as well as his audio tapes (which I also highly recommend). Without overdoing the hyperbole, this book has been the single most important positive phenomenon in my life. I have read MANY self-help books, but none have given me more access to myself or allowed me to liberate myself more.
The writing is dense, but never overwhelming. Sometimes a single paragraph would occupy my mind for hours as 'the lights would come on'. Branden is brilliant. I have read the book 3 times over the past 2 years and have bought about a dozen copies (even in Spanish) for friends.
He has some fairly strong thoughts regarding some religions that might put some people on the defensive, but there is truth in what he says.

Not a typical book on self-esteem as any reader of Nathaniel Branden's books will attest. This was the first theoretical book I read of Branden's. I was first introduced to this amazing author's work in his action-oriented _How to Raise Your Self-Esteem_. There is no exaggerating in saying _Honoring the Self_ is life-changing in it's psychological and philsophical implications. It explains so much in terms of what self-esteem actually is and how it can be understood to affect any life pursuit or relationship you can imagine. The most important pursuit and relationship being one's happiness and self-actualization. Chapters on fear and guilt inspire self-exploration to depths we often neglect. The final section of the book offers a brief summary of the philosophical and political foundations necessary for a society of self-esteem. From an ethics of rational self-interest to a political economic system of free markets, this section is sure to provoke a re-thinking of some of your cherished beliefs. It is an excellent foundation for further research into self-esteem, philosophy and economics. However, if your primary interest is just self-esteem, the author's _The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem_ would be your next rewarding read. It is rare that a book will seem new and fresh with every read, but _Honoring the Self_ does just that. Read it twice, thrice, as many times as you can before it falls apart. Then buy another copy!

This book is wonderful and inspiring. It is about life, and contains the deepest spiritual and philosophical insights that can be had on the subject. Nathanieal Branden is an incredible and beautiful human being, and if you have not read any of his books then I hope this review will cause you to read this one, for Nathaniel Branden is unique and this book stands out.

I am going to relate some of my experiences. It will become clear why.

I am 22, and until about seven months ago most of my life since junior high has been distinguished with either overwhelming depression, or more frequently, intense anger and a vigorous hostility towards the human race. The only periods of emotional calm were made possible by self-evasive pursuits of joy, which permitted me to be unconscious of my fundamental disatisfaction with myself and my grotesque emotional dishonesty.

At a certain point this changed dramatically. Inspired by a series of emotionally tumultuous experiences that had come about because of an unfortunately convoluted relationship with a girl, over the course of about three days my understanding of myself and my relationship to reality underwent a fantastic explosion. In a truly unreasonably short period of time I formed an understanding of myself and other human beings and my relationship to reality with clarity and power and joy that I had never before fathomed was even possible. I have found it natural to say that in a very short period of time I "broke free."

And breaking free was euphoria! My level of fulfillment, my self-confidence, my sense of freedom, my sense of having the ability to achieve any realistic goal no matter how grand, my sense of optimism, felt limited by nothing. I felt a sense of purpose, an embrace with the infinite, that I think few humans have ever had the privilege of experiencing.

This euphoric state gradually declined over the following weeks, but since then my emotional response to existence itself has been fundamentally different. Every day, I feel like I exist a little bit more.

The reason this personal experience is directly relevant to Honoring the Self is because all the psychological and philosophical insights I gained are in this book, written much more elegantly and concretely than I previously would have thought possible. The ideas in this book are powerful. Reading this book was very much like a refinement in words of lessons of life I had learned and am still learning every day.

It is obvious to me that Nathaniel Branden is a very rare human being who has put into words the means of human emotional fulfillment as clearly and straightforwardly as possible. If I had not had the experience that blessed me with a few moments of spiritual euphoria, but instead had read this book, then my understanding of the same things I understood as a result of that event would have been an inevitable occurrence, only perhaps less suddenly.

And this is why I emphatically recommend this book to every member of the human race.

This is one of Branden's masterpieces. A truly profound work in his field. Branden's insights hinge on knowing ourselves. Although this somewhat Delphic oracle sounds simple, Branden develops it very well. The book delves into the way we see ourselves and seeks to get to the root of the word 'self.' When we are alone at 4:00 in the morning and no one else is around - our real, naked, self - the question of who we are and how we see ourselves can begin to be answered.

One of the most profound insights is that some of our seemingly hard-to-solve personal problems with our 'self' can be traced to an undeveloped self within our psyche such as our 'child self.' In our development as a child, for example, if we did not go though completely a natural cycle of development, or if a piece of the development is missing, that particular self may be crying to be completed within us. To get to the root of some of our problems we have to peer into these undeveloped selves and try to reconstruct why it was undeveloped and attempt to relive the event(s) to compensate for the loss in development. Sometimes it is like trying to peel away the layers of an onion - getting to the root of a psychological effect - but the effort is well worth it. I can testify from personal applications of Branden's approach.

This is very well written, rational, easy to read, and based on sound practice from Branden's clinical career.