Lessons I Have Unlearned

Book excerpt: ‘Lessons I have Unlearned makes you feel like you are having a heart to heart with an old friend. Florence wades right into discussions about identity and spirituality, speaking to those inner voices which all of us battle, with clarity and fluency. I highly recommend this book for every person, because we all battle fears and insecurities. There are no easy answers, but this book is an encouragement that hope remains.' Selina Stone, Tutor and Lecturer in Political Theology at St Mellitus College We all have ideas about what we think life will be like - ideas we pick up from books, films, music videos, the adults around us, and even church. We think we have a roadmap that will guide us towards success. But it isn’t long before life throws some curve-balls at us. Florence Gildea looks at a series of myths that we cannot help but absorb from films, fairytales, songs, and advertisements: that we get to call the shots and have control over how our lives turn out; that a happily ever after is within our reach. All the strategies we have learned to make ourselves safe, loveable, and successful will backfire. Life, it turns out, is found exactly where Jesus said it was: at the end of ourselves, at the foot of the cross.