The Exile: A Devoted Son's Spiritual Journey (The Exile Trilogy Book 1)
As a college professor, Dr. Arik Greenberg had studied religion all his life, earning advanced academic degrees in his field. But none of this would sufficiently prepare him for his true spiritual journey. In The Exile, the first book of a trilogy, his challenge would be to rescue the family home from his mother’s deadly compulsive hoarding, and to protect his parents from their mental illnesses, borne out of a family legacy of abuse. His journey would lead him from a simple, trusting, ingenuous faith—through stages of doubt, anger, and Job-like questioning—and ultimately to a more complex and nuanced relationship with the Divine.
[Disclaimer: Contains graphic testimony of abuse, as well as some depictions of hoarding. Not for the faint of heart.]
ASIN : B0BZLYT821
Publisher : Enlightened Religion Press; 1st edition (April 14, 2023)
Publication date : April 14, 2023
Language : English
File size : 9693 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
Print length : 238 pages
Page numbers source ISBN : 0960088946
Reviews
★★★★★
I have delved into this book and each time I find myself drawn into reading more. It is a shocking tale that is engaging as much for the gentleness and eloquence with which it is told. It is very remarkable, and doubtless warrants a reading of the full trilogy to know its rightful place and greater impact upon our complex human society. Bravo, Arik; bravo...
— William D.
★★★★★
One of the greatest aspects of literature, film, and story telling is the capacity for the reader to place themselves in the shoes of the author. In this incredibly well written memoir, the reader is able to get an inside view of mental illness, complex family dynamics, and the messiness of life: the good, the bad, and the ugly. However, the vulnerability of the author invites the reader beyond an outsider's point of view, into the shoes and seat of his journey. The author, then, becomes a mirror through which the reader can come to see themselves and the journey can become a co-entanglement in which the struggles, sufferings, endurance, and growth of the author can become accessible and possible, vicariously, to the reader. I highly recommend this book for its spiritually formative capacity and invitation to reflection via the sharing of another's story.
— Joe
★★★★★
This is a beautifully written dedication and memoir to the author's parents. It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child -- the same can be true for a community coming together to help an aging parent overcome compulsive hoarding. I think this work can help others who might be navigating a similar situation or experience with hoarding from both a personal and psychological perspective. The author weaves key incidences throughout both parents' lives that are essential to understanding the root cause of hoarding and enablement. Throughout his journey in this first book, he exemplifies compassion, empathy and determination even when it might appear that the task at hand is insurmountable. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and am eagerly awaiting the releases of the next works!
— A.B.
★★★★★
The Exile is so beautifully written it could be fiction. Except everything in it are a heart rending true story of actual events. Arik Greenberg is jarringly open about the evolution of his parents tragic hoarding with its derivation their horrific ritual abuse (hard to read but something we must all know about). It is clear throughout how deeply Greenberg adores and admires his mother, as he is simultaneously horrified, hurt and enraged by his mother hoarding her way to turning the family house into a dangerous death trap. There is a moral here that faith ultimately wills out, and Greenberg’s heartfelt and beautiful cri du coeur embodies his faith. I was riveted by a story remarkably told from cover to cover. I highly recommend and encourage one and all to read this remarkable book.
— Dr. David Grand
