Escape Routes - by Johann Christoph Arnold (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

You name the hell...there is a way out. After decades of pastoral counseling, Johann Christoph Arnold still marvels at our capacity to make life miserable for ourselves and one another. This book, his tenth, maps out a sure way out of life's hells and toward a happy, meaningful life.

In contrast to the makeovers and quick fixes hawked by popular culture, Escape Routes offers a tougher prescription. Using real-life stories as travel guides, Arnold exposes the root causes of loneliness, frustration, alienation, and despair and shows how anyone, regardless of their age, income bracket, or social status, can find freedom and new life. The choices he presents are clear: "to be selfish or selfless, to forgive or to hate, to burn with lust or with love."

No matter what your problems, or who you are, this book will help you on your way, provided you're ready to take its medicine.
, br>Arnold writes: "Call it life, call it hell: there's not a person I've met who hasn't been lonely, discouraged, depressed, or guilt-ridden at one time or another, if not sick, burned-out, or at sea in a relationship. Sometimes I know this because they have told me about their problems; sometimes I can tell just by looking in their eyes. That's what got me started on this book-the fact that all of us have known some form of hell in our lives, and that insofar as any of us find freedom, confidence, companionship, and community, we will also know happiness."

Review Quotes

Escape Routes is a gem of a book from an infinitely wise pen - a lucid, poetic, and pragmatic companion for "people who feel trapped in life's hells." Though rooted in the author's personal faith, it transcends religious boundaries and has universal, ecumenical appeal.

A humble and thoughtful offering...with stories and personal anecdotes that gently urge readers to a more meaningful life.

Arnold dispenses much practical advice while exposing the roots of such human perennials as loneliness, frustration, alienation, and despair. Sometimes his medicine is Zen-like in its common sense.

Beautiful...Arnold does not give us a magic formula for coping with life's hells - there is none - but gently reminds us that the first step begins with ourselves. Drawing on the wisdom of men and women of many faiths, this book is one that can be appreciated by all.

Not many authors pack as much wisdom, and as little fluff, into a page as Arnold. If you're wondering who you want to be when you grow up, Escape Routes offers a road map to real life. If you're already grown up and wondering if you missed something, this book offers a hard but real path to rebirth.

About the Author

People have come to expect sound advice from Johann Christoph Arnold, a pastor and award-winning author with more than 2 million copies of his books in print in more than 20 languages. His other books include Why Forgive?, Rich in Years, Seeking Peace, Cries from the Heart, and Be Not Afraid.
Born in Britain in 1940 to German refugees, Arnold spent his boyhood years in South America, where his parents found asylum during the war; he immigrated to the United States in 1955. He lives with his wife, Verena, in upstate New York.