Radical Honesty: How to Transform Your Life by Telling the Truth

by Brad Blanton

Book Overview

"We all lie like hell," says Dr. Brad Blanton. "It wears us out...it is the major source of all human stress. It kills us." But you *CAN* escape the jail of your mind For over 20 years, Radical... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440507545
• ISBN13: 9780440507543
• Release Date: April 1996
• Publisher: Dell Trade Ppr
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Profoundly insightful.

Opens the door to a new way of living life. Best book I've read in a long time. Thanks, Brad!

I'll never be the same....

This book changed my life. Most people out there who complain about it JUST DO NOT UNDERSTAND. I don't want to waist my time (or yours) trying to defend his views. They are not good or bad. They are ideas that point out what might be wrong with us as individuals and as a society. What Radical honesty did for me was allow me to attain a level of satisfaction with this present moment. It has allowed me to justify breaking down social barriers to being honest. Before I even finished this book I had the power to go and tell my wife that I had cheated on her! And that I had been living with this lie for years! Who would have thought that she would have forgiven me? Who would have thought that because of this experience we are closer than ever! This is Radical, and my life has changed Radically. This book acted on my mind like a stiff drink, and has since allowed me to re-discover the here and now. This book is very hard to understand for those of you who are trapped in your minds, whose hearts are in total servitude to your minds. I've read all the reviews, and those that don't get it just don't. And those that do are lucky. I consider myself lucky. This book won't show you how to live. It will show you that you are already alive and whole. I strongly recommend this book to everyone. Mr. Blanton is a little over the top at times. But it's amusing and always challenges our preconceptions.

Radical honesty for those who believe in "Grow Up"

Whenever I pick this book up off the bookshelf I am reminded of the Jack Nicholsons character in A Few Good Men where he says "The Truth? You cant handle the truth!". This is an in your face book that will make some people terribly uncomfortable. People who are afraid of honesty. I believe that while many people will say they want the truth that when they hear it they are livid. Truth hurts. And I admit that I have a double standard with myself when it comes to truth. Most of the time I speak my mind and say what I believe. But I also admit that I also deflect questions from some people whom experience has shown me cannot handle the truth, simply because I don't need the nonsense in my life.And I admit that I winced when I first saw the books title and then became intrigued when I heard him speak on a variety of radio and television shows. So I bought the book and am glad. And yes it is heavily politically incorrect in an era where pushing and enabling the whole woe is me victim mode is so popular.One of my favorite parts of this book and advise that I believe more people need to take is where the author writes on page 179" Many of the people who go to therapists or physicians seeking relief are tired. They are tired from having worked out their lives in such a way that they get worn out instead of recharged by living. When someone like this takes responsibility for exercise, nutrition, and rest, a number of their "psychological" problems disappear. The human body has a wonderful capacity to restore itself it is given a break from abuse and a chance to rest. Wellness is a natural state of being for people who have learned how to get out of their own way. "On page 185 the author notes wisely that "What happens when therapy works and keeps on working is that people want to learn about how to stay well. They become interested in living in the world by constantly renewing their leases on life rather than by being lost in their minds. They can do that best within the context of a sustaining community of other people in the same boat--people who have created wellness and are committed to maintaining wellness."On page 187 he shares that most people don't take care of themselves out of knowing they should. That there was a man who was told by his physician to lose 15 lbs but didn't and in fact gained 10 more pounds and was told at his next doctors visit by the doctor "If you aren't willing to take care of yourself, why in the hell should I?". That it took having a heart attack that could have been prevented for the man to change. Dr Blanton then wisely notes that "learning to take care of ourselves creatively rather than resentfully is a big step in growing up".On page 212 Dr Blanton notes "Responsibility means that whatever you are doing, you are willing to experience yourself as the cause. You are the source of your troubles as well as your successes." "As long as you are blaming, explaining, apologizing, trying, resolving to be good, hop

An Access to Freedom

Radical Honesty is a courageous piece of work that dares to tap into conversations many refuse to acknowledge, namely, the extent to which we as human beings have a level of dishonesty that permeates our lives, a level of dishonesty developed over years that is so automatic, so second nature, that we have forgotten anything else is possible.Blanton is intentionally blunt and abrasive. The message is not to be mixed with sugar. In fact, "sugar" is part of what is being distinguished.A trap in engaging this material is to interpret it as suggesting one should vocalize every thought or opinion without regard for its impact on others. That's just irresponsible, and it misses the message.Blanton points out how as human beings we are not naturally set up to be truthful. Instead, we say and do what we think will produce the desired result and have us succeed. That we attempt to manipulate each other (or at least please and impress each other) is not profound. That we don't realize the depth, breadth, and overall impact of this is more interesting. That we've grown to believe our "act" will be more successful in life than our true thoughts and feelings is profound indeed.Blanton is pointing to something that is possible, being utterly straight and authentic in life, and to a freedom and power that is on the other side of the "act." Perhaps utter truthfulness with others is an access to truthfulness with oneself, something we prefer to think we already have.Read Blanton's book, and you'll think again.Two films come to mind that occur to me as at least providing a taste of the authentic conversations that are possible and what they can open up for people, the classic "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and the more recent "The Breakfast Club." People started speaking straight. Lives were altered, and a certain freedom became available. What is that freedom?Radical Honesty is a fresh introduction to powerful ideas about what it is to be human and the notion that as humans we naturally inherit ways of thinking and being that limit us and bind us. Something else is possible. Read the book, and you may discover that the entire human race has issues you thought were yours alone.

Lying Ruins Romance! This Book Led Me To True Love

I was in a dishonest relationship when I read this book. I knew it wasn't right but I couldn't break away because I didn't want to hurt his feelings. Reading this book helped me to realize that I was hurting him and myself by being a big fat liar. I was telling him I loved him and not feeling it and he believed me so he was in a relationship he thought was mutual but was not. I realized that the most loving thing to do was to let him go. Thanks to that I found my current husband who I truly love. I was honest with him from our first date and it was exhilarating. I knew I didn't want to lie through the whole relationship so I told the truth from the start. There was an element of risk involved but it was worth it.