Book Title: The Skeleton Code: A Satirical Guide to Secret Keeping
Authors: Ken Massey & Alla Campanella
Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 205 pages
Genre: Self-Help, Satire
Publisher: Morgan James
Release date: November 2016
Tour dates: Jan 9 to 27, 2016
Content Rating: G
Book Description:
Skeletons. We all have them hidden away, usually in an overcrowded and unsecure closet where they are likely to rattle loose. As prisoners, their prime directive is to break their shackles and haunt our happiness.
Alla Campanella and Ken Massey have discovered and interviewed many of these free and feral skeletons and the people who didn’t guard them well. Their true stories and raw realities are found in these pages. You will laugh at many, cringe at some, be in awe of others, disbelieve a few, and be challenged by all.
The Skeleton Code is a satirical and humorous look at the many ways we protect our public personas by closeting our personal secrets. The satire helps us wade into the dark and difficult waters of that famous river called Denial.
You can use the facetious strategies of The Code to maximize a self-deluding way of life, but Alla and Ken hope you will look into this mirror and discover The Skeleton Cure, which is a life of deeper self-honesty and transparency.
Buy the Book: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
My Review:
Reviewed by Laura Fabiani
With a background in psychology, I'm always curious about human behaviour. What makes us do things we don't want others to know about and then try to hide them and hope nobody ever discovers them? What if we have a dark secret, especially one since childhood, a skeleton in the closet we want to keep hidden? It was some of these questions that prompted me to read this book.
While I read a lot of non-fiction, it's the first time I read a self-help book that is mostly satirical in nature. In other words, most of the book pokes fun at the lengths people go to in trying to keep the skeletons in their closets from being discovered. In chapters 10 and 11--the last two chapters or what the authors refer to as the second section of the book--the authors shift from satire to straight talk. This part for me was what I was waiting for as I read the book. I found it helpful and wished there had been more of it.
For example, how do you divulge a secret to those that have been injured by your secret? Is there a difference between discretion and secret keeping? I don't think many people think about how they can possibly heal from having kept such secrets because the fear factor is huge, but this book is hopeful and stresses how honesty and openness can remove the physical and emotional toll of carrying such a burden.
So although I can appreciate humor and satire, I would have preferred that it was interspersed with the serious straight talk, instead of overtaking the book. I have to admit, though, it was a unique way to introduce the topic of secret keeping and all it implications. Really, the things people do to keep their secrets hidden can be hilarious if not sad.
The Skeleton Code is a humorous and interesting dissection of human behaviour and an encouraging look at the journey that can free one of the emotional burdens of secrets. It can help many to move forward into a truer way of living.
While I read a lot of non-fiction, it's the first time I read a self-help book that is mostly satirical in nature. In other words, most of the book pokes fun at the lengths people go to in trying to keep the skeletons in their closets from being discovered. In chapters 10 and 11--the last two chapters or what the authors refer to as the second section of the book--the authors shift from satire to straight talk. This part for me was what I was waiting for as I read the book. I found it helpful and wished there had been more of it.
For example, how do you divulge a secret to those that have been injured by your secret? Is there a difference between discretion and secret keeping? I don't think many people think about how they can possibly heal from having kept such secrets because the fear factor is huge, but this book is hopeful and stresses how honesty and openness can remove the physical and emotional toll of carrying such a burden.
So although I can appreciate humor and satire, I would have preferred that it was interspersed with the serious straight talk, instead of overtaking the book. I have to admit, though, it was a unique way to introduce the topic of secret keeping and all it implications. Really, the things people do to keep their secrets hidden can be hilarious if not sad.
The Skeleton Code is a humorous and interesting dissection of human behaviour and an encouraging look at the journey that can free one of the emotional burdens of secrets. It can help many to move forward into a truer way of living.
Disclosure: Thanks to ProBook Marketing for sending me this book for review. I was not told how to rate or review this product.
Ken Massey talking about The Skeleton Code to WTVR CBS 6 News. This is a great interview summarizing the book well.
About the authors:
Ken Massey is a public speaker, author, humorist and minister enjoying the second and truer half of life. He holds two graduate theological degrees and is trained as a life coach, conflict manager and transition specialist. He enjoys golf, and traveling, but finds his greatest fulfillment helping other people discover their true worth as human beings. Ken, a native Texan, loves the beauty and the people of North Carolina, where he and Alla reside.
Alla Campanella, after traveling throughout the world, has lived in the US since 1992. A longtime student of the arts and humanities, she enjoys her work as an artist and photographer. Alla was inspired to write this book because she heard so many personal and painful secrets from her clients about their failures and foibles and wanted them to face these realities rather than hide from them.
Sounds humorous but I can see how you would have been looking and waiting for the meat of the book if you wanted some real tips (as I would have)
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