Sacred Road my journey through abuse leaving the Mormons embracing spirituality edition by Todd Maxwell Preston Religion Spirituality eBooks
Download As PDF : Sacred Road my journey through abuse leaving the Mormons embracing spirituality edition by Todd Maxwell Preston Religion Spirituality eBooks 
My father was sexually abused as a boy. I found this out when I was thirty-five years old. Was I shocked? Not really – he was raised with violence and abuse, in a very dysfunctional system. The abuse was accepted as normal, I get that now. The fact that it was treated as normal made it all okay. I’m thirty-six years old as I write my story, it is just a story. I am no longer attached to my story. My story used to be everything, it justified all the anger and rage. I thought that my story was who I was. I offer my story to all who have been abused, also to the abuser, also to those who would like to understand abuse. All who have not yet let go of their story.
That’s Todd Maxwell Preston in his memoir Sacred Road.
His story is a familiar one in ex-Mormon circles. Mormonism is especially attractive to people and families suffering from abuse. People see these beautiful, smiling, perfect Mormon families and think “If we were Mormon, we’d be happy like that too.”
In such cases, Mormonism isn’t the root cause of the abuse, but can often exacerbate the problem instead of helping. Once the family joins the church, Mormon culture encourages them to cover up the abuse, and only show a beautiful, smiling, perfect exterior. Mormon teachings also often give increased authority to the abuser, teaching the rest of the family be obedient and submissive.
Todd’s story is exceptional, though, in terms of his perspective. I’ve read a lot of memoirs where the author describes having been profoundly hurt, having learned unhealthy relationship models, and passing the abuse along. Generally such stories have an edge of defensiveness, but not Todd’s story. He has taken great pains to understand where he was at and what he and others were feeling that prompted various (often poor) choices. Thus he takes responsibility for his choices and expresses regret at the harm caused by others, but without blaming and shaming. In terms of understanding the cycle of abuse — in order to break it — the story is excellent and exceptional. I’ve never read anything quite like it. And it’s inspiring to see the main character grow into a person who can view his own story in this way.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who would like more perspective on abuse and on how it affects people and families
Sacred Road my journey through abuse leaving the Mormons embracing spirituality edition by Todd Maxwell Preston Religion Spirituality eBooks
Oh gosh...............poorly written doesn't even touch it. I kept thinking, "If I see the words 'my journey', 'one with nature', 'universal' (something-or-other), 'creative', 'creativity', and half a dozen additional pat phrases he used repeatedly, I'll scream. If he cavorts one more time with butterflies, birds and dragonflies, I'll scream".I finished it to see if he would bail it out in the end, but he didn't. This man needs help. Runs from all responsibility, cries on everybody's shoulder, shoots himself in the foot again and again and again. He's narcissistic, self-centered, weak. Those four (Or more? I never got it straight) children he fathered in Utah who "meant the world to him", ultimately didn't mean a thing. It seems he ended up in New Zealand fathering yet two more, undoubtedly more by now, with a new wife and is happy as, oh say, a butterfly, bird or dragonfly (??). Just give him time................he'll bail on them too. The world is full of 'em.
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Sacred Road my journey through abuse leaving the Mormons embracing spirituality edition by Todd Maxwell Preston Religion Spirituality eBooks Reviews
This book is filled with philosophical babble that the writer uses to justify a huge lack of maturity in dealing with situations head on. Throughout the book he shares unconvincing abuse heaped on him by his father. Rather than just deciding not to have a relationship with his father, he continues to seek acceptance from a father who will not give him love or acceptance. The writer has conflict with seemingly all relationships in his life including his association with The Mormon Church. Mr. Preston had four children in Utah with his first wife and then decides he will sell his practice, divorce his wife and move to New York with no job prospects in sight. Who does that? He claims to love his daughters so much he cries just thinking about them. Does he expect his new age thinking will make someone believe that his children are even a priority with him? The end of the nook says he now has five daughters. There is no mention made as how child number five came into being. Mr. Preston evidently is married again, living in New Zealand and waiting to become a father once again (#6). I am an avid reader and am usually spellbound by books about Mormons but this book was actually maddening the further I read it. Pe
I am always stubborn about finishing a book once I've started it, and there have been times when I was happy I did, as the end redeemed what was at times ponderous to read. This was not one of those times. This book is not well-written. Incorrect punctuation and and bad sentence structure drive me crazy; and this writer's skills seemed to get worse towards the end, as he blathered on about his dragonflies and birdies, and his oneness with nature.
I am not a Mormon, but I have known several of them very well. The Mormons I have known are lovely people, who care deeply about their families, love their children unconditionally, and are accepting of family members who do not follow the same path as they do. This man's father does not represent the church well, but there are bad individuals in every religion.
The biggest problem I have with Todd Maxwell Preston is that he, for no justifiable reason, left his four little girls behind in order to "find himself." Yippee for Todd, doing nothing but wandering in the woods, sitting by streams, writing down his every thought, and becoming one with nature. Meanwhile, his ex-wife is left to pick up the pieces of her daughter's broken hearts. He should be embarrassed by his behavior, not writing a book about how much strength and courage it took for him to abandon his children to find happiness.
This book was a waste of my time.
Disclaimer Don’t get me wrong. Todd Preston survived a childhood of abuse, found the courage to leave an oppressive religion behind, and apparently has found peace and happiness. I applaud him for that. The journey he tells of in Sacred Road My Journey Through Abuse, Leaving the Mormons, Embracing Spirituality is heartening and heart-felt. It is the tale of a man who has found himself.
That being said, here’s the problem. Your therapist tells you there is a lecture being given that could inspire you. You go, expecting a forty-five minute talk in which a man relates his life journey and possibly gives you some hope, some encouragement. Then you listen, squirming in your hard chair, as the man drones on in a monotone for five full hours. This is how I felt about this book. Preston means well, but his tone never changes, his writing is all declarative sentences, and I never felt a personal connection. In the course of the book, he never gives anyone names, except those of his daughters. Perhaps he feels that revealing his father’s name or his mother’s name or his older brother’s name or his “good friend’s” name is an invasion of their privacy. But come on, how do we connect if we are supposed to feel disgust or dislike for someone we only know as “my father?” How can we appreciate the help of his buddy who is continually referred to as “good friend?” And why couldn’t he have come up with some dialogue? It’s his life—surely he knows what was said during arguments, discussions, and joyous moments. Instead, he simply relates…and relates…and relates…and relates. And what he relates is not all that interesting because there is no color to it. Where are the inner secrets of the Mormon Church? Where are the details of his childhood? Why did his father continually move around, within Utah and all the way to his native New Zealand, periodically? How did Todd Preston feel at the four high schools he attended? There is so little here to pin any emotion or interest on.
And eventually, Preston comes to a spiritual enlightening. This is where the book becomes almost unbearable. His language is so flowery, so New Age-y that I couldn’t take it. All right, I admit it I scanned the last chapter or so (perhaps 15 pages) because I was sick to death of the birds telling him he was doing the right thing, of the towering trees embracing him, of the winds wafting him on to a new life.
I hate writing negative reviews, so I repeat, “There is something to be learned here.” It may very well speak to you and leave you wondering why I was so dissatisfied with the book. I do hope that is the case. And I also hope that in future additions, Preston corrects his numerous run-on sentences. Forgive me for being such a curmudgeon.
Oh gosh...............poorly written doesn't even touch it. I kept thinking, "If I see the words 'my journey', 'one with nature', 'universal' (something-or-other), 'creative', 'creativity', and half a dozen additional pat phrases he used repeatedly, I'll scream. If he cavorts one more time with butterflies, birds and dragonflies, I'll scream".
I finished it to see if he would bail it out in the end, but he didn't. This man needs help. Runs from all responsibility, cries on everybody's shoulder, shoots himself in the foot again and again and again. He's narcissistic, self-centered, weak. Those four (Or more? I never got it straight) children he fathered in Utah who "meant the world to him", ultimately didn't mean a thing. It seems he ended up in New Zealand fathering yet two more, undoubtedly more by now, with a new wife and is happy as, oh say, a butterfly, bird or dragonfly (??). Just give him time................he'll bail on them too. The world is full of 'em.
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