Official Review: Survival: by David Brady

[Jorge Leon Salazar]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Survival:" by David Brady.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Survival by David Brady is an autobiography in which he tells the highlights of his life. Brady lived a traumatic childhood in a dysfunctional home where his father was an alcoholic who became violent and vile when drunk. The author also considers the difficulties he lived through in his adolescence and adulthood. The negative experiences sharply marked him and prevented him from admitting the mistakes he was committing. He indeed goes to the extreme of mistreating his dearest family, like his children and his wife. Like his father, Brady ends up falling into alcoholism and later into drug abuse.

The author describes many details of his career as a filmmaker and in the field of television productions both in Canada and in Hollywood, USA. He equally tells about his financial problems. His most monumental failure was the attempt to produce the movie Dixie Lanes. However, he regards that experience as the one that brought him his life back.

In his mature age, David Brady manages to find the means that allow him to realize the mistakes made and reconsider to embark on a distinct path. Based on the experiences and learning Brady lived, he exposes the mechanisms that were useful to him to get out of the pit where he was. These recommendations constitute the eight steps of the Principles of the Master Mind, developed by Jack Boland. The second part of the book comprises eight chapters each dedicated to each of the steps. In that respect, Brady employs the analogy of how he applies each of these steps in his life. Primarily, he encourages us to recognize the existence of a Higher Power and pray and ask Him/Her to assist us when we necessitate it.

The story is recounted from the third-person perspective in a coherent and pleasant way. In some passages, the author details many aspects of his personal life, but the narrative does not become boring. He combines aspects like his movie productions, his romantic life, friendships, travels, and places where he lived. The narrative is concise, brief, and fluid. The writing style is appropriate for the type of book.

The religious approach is broad. Brady was raised as a Catholic, but his concept of God is open. It is referred to as the existence of a Higher Power. God as everyone understands Him, even in some passages the author suggests that God can be He or She.

What I liked the most was the educational message that the book transmits, which includes several edges: recognizing erroneous behaviors, seeking help, and executing plans or mechanisms to correct mistakes. I also like the concept of the Master Mind meetings based on the saying in the Bible: "When two or more meet, then I am there too." This is similar to other non-Catholic religions.

I disliked that I noticed a few quite details that I think could be fully fixed in a later round of proofreading. I observed the pronoun to refer to God was written in lowercase. For example, him instead of Him, or her instead of Her. It appears to be author's assumptions, but I think they can be considered typos.

I enjoyed Survival; it covered relevant topics like substance addiction, family, and financial problems. More importantly, it offered alternatives to overcome hardships. Those options worked for Brady and might be helpful to other people. The edition was proper although I found some remarks to comment on, which did not disturb the reading. That said, I rate Survival with 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to those who are enduring difficult situations and are seeking for a guide or a path that can conduct them to surpass them. On the basis, they must recognize the existence of a God or a Higher Power as the author refers to.

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Survival

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Survival:
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[Christabel Uzoamaka]

I always say that being honest to oneself is one of the most important virtues because that is the only to move forward from your previous mistakes. I’m glad that the author finally found the light, and reading about his journey to healing and self discovery is sure to be inspiring.

I enjoyed this review, thank you.

[GiselleBengochea]

Congratulations on an exceptional review. God bless you!

[Chinelookeke]

He overcame the challenges he faced in life. He is an overcome and a conqueror. God will never fail His people. Wonderful book and a very good review. Thanks.

[Adrianna Melillo]

It's interesting how we, as humans, tend to make the mistakes that we observe and know to be, in fact, mistakes (e.g., observing violent behavior and then becoming violent). I'm not sure there's really a way to lead each other to avoid big mistakes like these (I mostly believe that we have to learn these things for ourselves), but I think it's so important to hear the stories of people who succeed in spite of those mistakes. Understanding that we truly can get up after a fall (no matter how hard the fall is). Lovely review!

[Topsey]

Sounds like a great autobiography with some great messages for the reader too! Doesn’t quite peak my interest but I liked reading your detailed review!

[Priyanka2304]

Sad to learn that the author had to face so much in his childhood. Thanks for the review.