I came across Joel Schueler via a post on LinkedIn. From that, I went to look at his work on Amazon and discovered ‘Love Your Fear’. As usual, I used their useful ‘Look Inside’ feature to gain an insight into the style and content.

I suffered ME/CFS for ten years and, although now rid of that condition, it seems likely that its effect on my hippocampus has left a lasting shadow relating to anxiety. I am much more sensitive to anxiety now than I was before I developed the condition. I explain this, as it’s the reason I decided to read the book.

A further cause of personal interest arose when I also found the book deals with some management of pain. I’ve suffered constant pain in my lower back for well over a year, and although I’ve now discovered the cause (my L4 nerve is trapped and has been damaged), the treatment is taking a long time to work.

So, I read this book with some hope for help with these two unrelated conditions.

Joel writes in a readily accessible style, which is easy to read and assimilate. He uses personal experience to describe his suggestions for how we can deal with the problems relating to both pain and the fear that causes much anxiety. This personal approach gives the book a friendly feel that allows the reader to trust in the advice provided.

I’d come across the terms ‘meditation’ and ‘mindfulness’ previously, but hadn’t found a description that so readily explained these practices. Joel explains what’s involved and makes it easy not only to understand but to apply the suggested remedies. There’s no authoritarian command here, just suggestions for treatment and behavioural change that might alleviate the conditions. He also leads the reader to other sources of information and mentions alternative techniques that might be tried.

To discover whether a book of this sort can help reduce pain and/or fear takes time of course. There’s no easy fix. However, I’ve already noticed improvements in both areas, following his advice and using some of his techniques. I’ll continue with these, as it’s clear there are positive effects.

Another aspect of the book that makes it an extremely useful guide is the list of organisations dealing with many problems. His links make it easy to contact these experts, and he lists the various bodies in a logical fashion.

I’m glad I bought the book, and look forward to consulting it at need over the coming months as I heal.

[Any review is a personal opinion. No reviewer can represent the view of anyone else. The best we can manage is an honest reaction to any given book.]