How Not to Be Afraid, Gareth Higgins
How Not to Be Afraid, Gareth Higgins
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How Not to Be Afraid
Seven Ways to Live When Everything Seems Terrifying

Author: Gareth Higgins, Kathleen Norris

Narrator: Gareth Higgins

Unabridged: 8 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/22/2022


Synopsis

The world seems terrifying. Whether your fear is about violence, shame, illness, money, meaning, or the collapse of certainty, you are not alone. Yet the power of the fear we feel depends on the story we tell about fear. Fight, flee, or freeze: are these are only options?

Growing up near the troubled city of Belfast, Gareth Higgins was schooled in suspicion, mistrust, and paranoia. Would someone be lurking behind the door? Was there a bomb under that car? Yet fear feeds on the stories we tell ourselves, Higgins claims, and in How Not to Be Afraid, he delves into the mechanisms of fear, as well as the quiet, immense strength of individuals and communities that refuse to let it reign.

Grounded in personal experience and expert reflection on violence, conflict transformation, and trauma recovery, Higgins traces vulnerability as strength to address seven common fears that plague each of us at some point in our lives. By examining such topics as the fear of being alone, the fear of not having enough, and the fear of violence and death, he invites listeners into habits of hope rooted in Celtic spirituality and the mysteries of love.

About Gareth Higgins

Gareth Higgins is an author, storyteller, and activist who was born in Belfast during the Troubles in Northern Ireland and now lives in Asheville, North Carolina. Higgins has a PhD in sociology and speaks widely about storytelling, violence reduction, the power of dreams, and connection with the earth. He led a peacebuilding community in Northern Ireland, and helped to found the Wild Goose Festival, the New Story Festival, and the Movies & Meaning festival.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nancy on April 07, 2021

When I opened How Not to be Afraid: Seven Ways to Live When Everything Seems Terrifying, by Gareth Higgins, founder and editor of The Porch (“a slow conversation about beautiful and difficult things”) I expected to discover ways to not be afraid of tornadoes or flagged biopsy findings or pink slips......more

Goodreads review by Michael on April 12, 2021

book review: how not to be afraid title: How Not To Be Afraid author: Gareth Higgins publisher: Broadleaf Books date: 2021 Growing up near war-torn Belfast, Gareth Higgins was schooled in suspicion, mistrust, and paranoia. He offers in this book, which is definitely not a "self-help" book, a way of movin......more

Goodreads review by Lesley-Anne on April 19, 2021

If we're all, as the mystic Ram Dass said, just walking each other home, then I want to walk with Gareth Higgins. Somehow I know he'll reach out to steady me if I stumble, or wait beside me on the pathway if I need to get extra help, or even when the pandemic is nothing but a distant memory, offer m......more

Goodreads review by Bethany on March 20, 2021

In a world that seems full of division, tribalism, and conflict, Higgins reminds us of our calling and invitation as human beings to enter into a better way of engaging with the world around us - by striving to embody the life of a peacemaker and pursuer of the Beloved Community. Through his own exp......more

Goodreads review by Agrangercaploe on April 08, 2021

What a timely book after a year fearing a virus. Excellent practices at the end of each chapter to reflect and make changes. Gareth certainly has a background that he can speak from experience about fear. Some of my favorite quotes: “Fear doesn’t go away – nor should it. At times it helps us make wis......more