It's the story of civilization under the guiding framework of patriarchy. The resulting misalignment of the sexes has affected both sexes negatively, but especially the female sex. Civilization itself has been out-of-balance, floundering in needless warfare and competition throughout the centuries. This unhinged, patriarchal power grab now threatens a serious conflagration as they attempt to exert control over the entire Earth and its inhabitants. But people are waking up to their nefarious intentions. Many are also becoming aware of their own consciousness, realizing that there is a deeper Self beyond the "thinking self." This is the next step in evolution as we are now, once the rubble settles, moving into/onto a New Earth. But there's no need to wait, the journey invites the destination.
Under patriarchy, Schaefer notes, men “see nature as something to be conquered for profit” while women “identify with nature and respect it”—but, when it comes to leading humanity forward, their “input has never been sought.” Schaefer sees hope, though, in a “paradigm shift” toward a new masculinity at a moment when “we're gaining momentum to transform the human species” into one that “is able to use our minds to think” rather than be controlled by fear, old beliefs, and propaganda.
Drawing on his own lightbulb moment when he transcended the “thought-controlled, ego-distorted reality” that limits men, Schaefer’s prose is upbeat, searching, and tinged with humor. The book reads quickly, often positing big theories about key moments of human development before moving on. The result is more a loving vision of what could be than a roadmap, though Schaefer’s testimony about his own journey should hearten men whose acculturated thinking distances them from strong connections with women. “What joy,” he writes, “to be able to connect with half of humanity that had been closed off for me!”
Takeaway: Upbeat call for liberating the mind and society from patriarchal beliefs.
Comparable Titles: Katayoun Shirzad’s My Journey of the Heart, Lucia René’s Unplugging the Patriarchy.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B
