Book review: Walk Like A God

Walk Like A God, by Drew Jacob, sounds like a book that should be on every Pagan’s book shelf.  After all, right on the cover it says “how to have powerful spiritual moments with no church and no dogma,” which is what Pagans do every day of our lives.  The book is not a Pagan book, it’s a book that could be read and utilized by any person, religious or not.  It is also a book that could anger any person, religious or not.  Walk Like A God challenges you, making you face deeply held beliefs you never even knew you had, and challenge is not always a soothing experience.

Title:  Walk Like A God

Author: Drew Jacob

Price:  $8 in eBook format

Available:  Only on-line

The book is short, it clocks in at 86 pages, but it is devoid of fluff and filler that other authors place in their books to up the page count.  The lay-out s spacious and makes good use of imagery.  If you’ve read the Rogue Priest website, than you’ll have a good idea of how the book lay-out feels.    Reading the book I was struck by the way information is presented.  It’s very hands-on with specific ideas, tips, and suggestions on how a person can seek and travel down their own spiritual path.

Notice I am using the word ‘spiritual’ and never religious in regards to Drew’s book.  That’s because atheists will be just as (if not more) comfortable reading Walk Like A God than any theist.  That is the book’s blessing and curse.  The appeal is widened as it is written for a much more inclusive audience than polytheists like Drew, but the idea of living a spiritual life without faith in a higher power of some type pissed me off at times.  I realize that people do live spiritual and ethical lives without being a theist of some flavor and I have no problem with what others do in their lives, but the Gods are the center of my spiritual life.  I can also understand and support the idea that you can live a connected life full of amazing experiences without religion, but Drew’s book goes a bit further and excludes the Gods, not just organized religion.

That concept is the part that will both attract and challenge many Pagans and readers of other religious flavors.  But if you accept the challenge, you will benefit.

Once you stop looking at the book as a guide to spirituality and start reading it as a very practical how-to on living a fuller, richer, and more joyous life, you start to get into the groove and see how the steps Drew leads you through can change your life.  How to become more loving and connected to other people.  You’ll see nature as truly sacred and not just the lip service many of us pay to idea.  You’ll go outside your comfort zone to experience how adventure can become a core personal growth practice.  This book is meant, in short, to transform your life.

Does it?  It can.  If you are willing to have an open mind, an open heart, and are willing to get up off your ass.  Frankly, that puts many of us out of the running.  We aren’t willing to do much of anything other than be wage slaves and allow our time and minds to be sucked away watching tv.  But if you are ready to make serious, deep, and profound changes in your life by taking a walk in the woods – get this book and go live the life you dreamed of when you were a small child and hadn’t yet given up.

As for what Drew is up to next?  He’s practicing what he preaches.  He’s going to walk across two continents to meet the Gods.

4 thoughts on “Book review: Walk Like A God

  1. Scott Schulz says:

    I’m not sure that there has to be a great conflict between nontheistic spiritual practice and leading a rich polythiestic relationship with the Gods. A good place to delve into this material is The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Be sure to go with the most recent translation. There are striking parallels with western magic and the cosmology of the god-forms and demon-forms detailed in the bardo. And at the same time it is fundamentally nontheistic and nonmaterialistic. And it sounds well in line with what Jacob is getting at in his book.

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