Stop Being Reasonable

Reviewed By  Janet Mawdesley       July 5, 2019

 

Author  Eleanor Gordon-Smith

Distributor:      New South Books
ISBN:                 9781742235875
Publisher:         New South Publications
Release Date:   May 2019  

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How best to describe a book that will stand all your preconceived ideas about who you are on their collective heads, and pose the question ‘What if you are not who you think you are?’, the reasonable, human being you have always thought you were!

The answer to that is, read the book and then make a serious life decision as to who you are and who are the people that are close to you: You may be very surprised at the answers.

Philosopher Eleanor Gordon-Smith brings her vast array of talent to this wonderful, fresh look at life and who we really think we are in ‘Stop being reasonable’, a rather wry, but very truthful look at how we form and become the person we are, the influences which over the course of childhood set the boundaries for what we think, the people we mix with, the beliefs we hold dear.

Often these ideals remain unchallenged until something causes them to be challenged, causes a rethink, a change of direction, lifestyle or belief. The catalyst may be large or small.

The Introduction is thought provoking as one would expect from a Philosopher, the following chapters, or rather excerpts from life are more than that; they are enlightening, enjoyable, revealing and fascinating, as the layers are pealed back on lives of six people as they discover that who they thought they were, was not really who they are and would eventually become.

Some of the content could be considered as offensive, inflammatory or controversial, but the reality is, this is life in its raw state, life that is considered as ‘normal’. Life that when change is required to be made, can come with cataclysmic results for those who are brave enough to face up to wanting to be who they really are.

Wading through what is termed as the ‘murky place where philosophy and real life meet, this is not a book for the faint hearted, but rather a book that is an entirely fascinating read from cover to cover, and one that can be read, slightly tongue-in-cheek or from a serious perspective of making change and accepting the reality of setting yourself free!