Jessi Rising

This is my video review of No Working Title: A Life in Progress by Dr. John A. King, exploring the effects of sexual abuse and pornography on boys as they grow to manhood. It's a book of poems, and it's— I want to warn you that it is very emotionally charged, very, very personal in nature. But I can assure you of one thing, that you will definitely be inspired by his courage to speak about the things that have happened to him, the pain that he's endured, and the struggles that he, you know, still has, I think, to this day. Obviously, if you're a survivor of anything, you will definitely relate. Just a daily survivor of life even, because I think, you know, pain connects us all just like joy. And it's actually a very beautiful book. It'll make you cry. I cried a bunch of times. I had to put the phone down many times and reach for my tissues. Some of the You know, stories and poems about the things that happened to him are pretty hard to get through. I tried to read them really fast in hopes that, you know, they wouldn't make me feel anything, but they did. Made me feel really angry and, you know, but at the same time, you know, grateful that we can connect with another human being through You know, this kind of sharing, and it's very important in that aspect, I think. No matter who you are or, you know, what you do or how you define yourself in this life, I think pain is a pretty universal thing, and it's important to acknowledge that the things that we have been through does not define who we are or who we want to be. And for someone to come come up with this kind of courage to be able to share his story so honestly and so beautifully through poetry, I think is very, very important. And so I recommend this book very highly to everyone, not just people or victims of sexual abuse, or, you know, even the one— I mean, this book is not about victimhood anyway. So if anything, I think it's about empowerment and I'm actually pretty blown away by it. It's beautifully written. The poems will make you feel, and it's important to feel because, you know, if you ask me, would I rather feel no matter how painful something may be or not feel, 1,000 times out of 1,000 times I would choose to feel. And so this book did that for me, and I hope that it will for you too. And And no matter what, I think that you will find it very inspiring to read, you know, about someone's courage. So that's all I have to say, but I just want to thank you too, John. It's beautifully written. Thank you for the opportunity and thank you for the invitation. I am very humbled and And inspired by your work. So thank you very much. Please read this book. Thank you.