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Book Review: Conquering Fear
Harold S. Kushner. Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World. New York: Alfred F. Knopf, 2009. 192 pages.
Humans are the only animals that fear the future–a consequence of the gift of foresight. Harold Kushner, best known as the author of WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE, takes on fear in this quick but thoughtful book.
The essence of CONQUERING FEAR can be found in words Rabbi Kushner shared with an ill congregant: “God’s job is not to make sick people healthy. That’s the doctor’s job. God’s job is to make sick people brave.” (18) The book reminds us that while bad things may lie ahead, being crippled by fear in the present will only make them worse. Indeed, throughout the book Kushner reminds us that God himself repeatedly urges people not to be afraid. Kushner’s deity is not about fire and brimstone but overcoming fear.
The book includes chapters on some of the things that Americans fear most these days: terrorism, natural disasters, unemployment, lovelessness, aging, and finally the ultimate terror: death. While CONQUERING FEAR will be a good read for any age group, it is profoundly an older man’s book, as Kushner writes about aging and death with a purpose that a younger author, no matter how empathetic, couldn’t achieve. What he has to say is both comforting and inspiring. In a nutshell, it is that “Your life is the story; death is only punctuation.” (157) Those words aren’t just a balm for the ailing; they are a summons to life for the healthy.
Speaking of this being an old man’s book tempered by his life’s experience, I was particularly taken by Kushner’s meditation on Ecclesiastes. As a young man, he loved it because it spoke to the hypocrisy he saw everywhere. At thirty-five, he read it as the musings of a man worried that everything he’d worked for would disappear. At fifty, after his father’s death, he understood the book as an old man’s fear of death: he’s not worried that his work will be gone, but that he will be gone. It’s this kind of nuanced analysis that makes CONQUERING FEAR such a good read. It feels like the distillation of decades of serious thought about human struggle.
At a time when fear surrounds us, this book will both sooth and stir you.
Posted in book reviewson 11/20/2009 06:58 am by Dave
11/20/2009 at 3:32 pm
Fear is a very deep subject. Maybe it’s the most prevailing human emotion, force or motivation of all of them.
Having money cures many fears. A jackpot provides a lot of ammunition against various opposing forces. In a way, casinos provide people with the hope (or potential) to fight against various fears. Money-Fears can be quite frightening.
Adults worry about money fears…or health, loss and death fears.
Around 1980 I read a list of the Top Ten Things That Children Fear. I was surprised to find out that Kids’ Number One Fear is of “People”. I’d have thought that kids feared things like monsters, heights, the dark…etc…more than they’d fear people.
Us adults sometimes view fear completely different than our kids do. I used to fear one of my uncles (at family get-togethers). He reminded me of a big brahama bull.
Kids fear “people” for various reasons…and not always just for reasons involving physical ‘danger’. Kids fear people and their power to mimic or ridicule or to place them into an unwanted spotlight of attention.
It’s always good to try understanding kids’ fears.
I remember when I was about four years old. My mom would take me with her to J.C. Penny’s Department Store. She would say “Erik, let’s get on the elevator”. I used to say “NO!!” and I would run up the stairs to meet her on the 2nd floor. All that time my mom simply thought I was afraid of elevators themselves. Elevators didn’t bother me at all. I was simply confused by the word ‘elevator’. To me, the word sounded like “alligator”.
I was afraid of “alligators” and it used to really scare me that my mother would so eagerly hop into an “elevator” to go visit an “alligator”. I thought she must be kind of crazy to do that.
If your kids are ever in fear about something…it’s good to try to understand their logic behind what their fear actually is. They usually have good reasons behind the things they fear.
11/27/2009 at 4:51 pm
I just can’t stop myself. Why do we think humans are the only animals that fear the future?
The book sounds very interesting. In fact, I am thinking about reading it based solely on your review. That is high praise, sir.
11/30/2009 at 8:47 am
^^^^^
Because we are the only animals that can imagine what’s going to happen. A dog can’t think about what he’s going to do next month, let alone worry about who’s going to take care of his family after he’s gone. Foresight means we can plan for the future, but the cost is anxiety about the future.
12/02/2009 at 8:13 pm
i wanted to ask a question relating to conquering fears through adventure activities. Is it possible for people to push their life to a new level by participating in an activity that is outside of a persons natural comfort zone? If so would the relative feeling of excitment and empowerment allow a person to push aside anxiety and fear in all aras of their lives? Are ther any pittfalls to participating in such activities and would people look at this as an effective thing to do in their past time in order to enhance their lives?
12/02/2009 at 8:46 pm
^^^^
I’m not an expert, but I would guess that facing fear in one area would give you more confidence to handle fear in another area. I guess the pitfall is if you decide to go bungee-jumping and the strap breaks.