Radical Love||Learning to accept yourself and others :: Book Review

Themes: Mental Health, Faith

Violence: Mr. Levi is very blunt about his life growing up. He did not have a happy go lucky childhood and as a result there are portrayals of verbal, mental, and physical abuse. This is never portrayed in a light of this is ok, but it is discussed.

Spiritual content: Zachary Levi has faith in God and he is not ashamed of that. His parents have roots in the Jesus People movement though they were not as changed as some from that era of Faith. He talks about his faith and his beliefs and while here at Geek Devotions we differ from his theology slightly it is encouraging to hear his strong faith has continued through out his trials.

Language: The language in this book is not what I would call family friendly. Cursing is used multiple times a chapter, not only in Mr. Levi quoting people but also as his own expressions. While I as an adult was able to move past this and hear the heart of the story I would not recommend listening to this audiobook around children.

Synopsis:

“Radical Love is the debut memoir from Zachary Levi (Shazam!, American Underdog, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Chuck), which shares his emotional journey through a lifetime of crippling anxiety and depression to find joy, gratitude, and ultimate purpose. Facing the scars of childhood trauma and the voices in his head that told him he would never be enough, Zac recounts the raw yet honest behind-the-scenes story of his family life, career successes, and the personal disappointments that led him to rock bottom and landed him in a therapy center, where he learned to address the underlying issues that preceded his downward spiral.

Radical Love combines witty, touching, and powerful commentary with relatable illustrations to help you on your own path toward mental wellness. With vulnerability and humor, Zac relates the valuable lessons and insights he’s learned so that you can rise from the ashes of trauma and pursue a meaningful life of gratitude.” Per Amazon

I love audiobooks that are about people who are in the limelight, but especially the ones that are written and read by said person. I find I have a fascination with hearing people’s stories from their own lips. It feels more like a friend telling me their story than a famous person promoting it. Zachary Levi manages in this book to not even make it feel like a friend telling me a story but rather the friend baring their soul to me. He clearly got emotional during certain portions of the book, to the point that he almost brought me to tears. As a wise woman in a movie once said, “No one is allowed to cry alone in my presence,” and as a result of the clear emotions in this memoir, I to found myself aching for Zachary as he struggled with his mental health, his faith, and life in general.
He speaks bluntly about how he almost gave into the mental health issues that have plagued him most of his life. He gives insight into how he really did not realize this was abnormal because of his home life as a child. That to not truly love yourself for who God made you was not healthy. Overall his story and his testimony are powerful. His story is something that speaks to the glory of God, as well as the provision of God through his life, even when it was all going to crap.
Here at Geek Devotions, we give Radical Love 4 out of 5 Glix.