(note: this was among my to-be-reviewed books that ended up in the hands of the wrong people when moving 4/1/18 - see https://btripp-books.livejournal.com/206862.html for details - I did brief reviews of these lost books on recall)
(finished 10/31/17)
This is a book in the wider A.A. Canon (hence the use of last name initials for the authors), and deals with two of the 12 Steps that only get passing mention in “the big book”, Six (“were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character”) and Seven (“humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings”) … which follow the Step 4 “moral inventory” and Step 5 sharing of same. The title refers to releasing elements in one's psyche that are related to long-maintained “defects”, and it's a helpful expansion of these parts of recovery work.

A good review of steps six and seven as written in the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Good use of personal stories to elucidate the points being made. Somewhat limited in some of the discussion but a worthy road map for any human dealing with the rigors of the human condition. ( )

Although it might be easy to dismiss this book, saying there's little new here, my experience was more a case of recognition, as it, "well, of course, know why didn't I see that before?" I double-digit years in recovery and wish I'd found this book when I was doing the 6th and 7th steps (although they're the sorts of steps one never quite stops doing as life's path takes new twists and turns) and I now recommend it to people who ask my advice on how to identify what might be holding them back on their spiritual journey. It's a straight-forward, clearly written examination of possible character defects, with highly useful suggestions as to how to free one's self. I am particularly pleased to see Joe McQ quoted so much, as he was influential in my own understanding of sobriety, and spiritual growth, and a man I much admired.

Not only is this an extremely helpful book for those working "The Steps" for the first time, but it's a wonderful refresher course for those of us who've been around for a while and want to keep things green. Recommended. ( )