Reviewed by David Leonhardt, MyShelf.Com
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Take a walk with Thom Rutledge 25 years ago, strolling across the campus of Austin College. Feel the cool breeze. And feel his fear, fear that didn't show because he had learned already how to cover it up.

Embracing fear is not the first book this therapist has written, but it is unquestionably a book that comes from his heart as he teaches through stories and experiences from his private and professional life. Whereas many write books replete with stories from "the couch," Rutledge draws on his unique qualifications as "an out-of-the-closet, recovering neurotic-depressive alcoholic psychotherapist."

The writing is nothing to get excited about, but it is clear, easy to read and accessible to a broad audience. This is a calm man speaking through his keyboard, sharing a few stories and offering a few lessons. He offers four steps to transforming our relationship with fear: Face it. Explore it. Accept it. Respond to it. (The fact that the first letters in each step form the word "fear" is not at all coincidental.)

All in all, a very thought-provoking book by an author with solid credentials. I recommend it to anyone who feels fear is holding him back.

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The reviewer is David Leonhardt, author of Climb your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness.