Experiencing Reality by Chris Cathey

Title: Experiencing Reality: Perspectives from an Agent of Change
Author: Chris Cathey
Format: book
Source: sent to me for review from www.ExperiencingReality.com
Price: $15 at Amazon.com
Rating: Mixed

One of my favorite books is My Voice Will Go With You: The Teaching Tales of Milton H. Erickson by Sidney Rosen. Filled with easily accessible, short tales that Erickson told his students, relating events from his childhood, education, and work as a psychiatrist, it makes the perfect bathroom book, or the perfect tool to fill a few moments while you are waiting for your next client to arrive.

Chris Cathey's Experiencing Reality is perhaps best described as reminiscent of My Voice Will Go With You. The format and content are similar, short tales drawn from the author's childhood experiences playing soccer or camping, his training in the Marines, and his time working with troubled youth.

The stories are billed as metaphors, though the author leaves it to the reader to formulate what those metaphorical lessons may be, much the way that a change agent may operate with his clients. A few chapters—such as the one warning change agents against guru worship—fall short of metaphor, simply presenting straightforward advice. Others seem so obscure that the message is a bit hard to discern, though I suspect that may have been intentional. A few of the tales describe adaptations of Ericksonian methods, such as Cathey taking Erickson's approach to helping Olympic shot-putters and adapting it to helping a child overcome his fear of heights. (It is perhaps unfortunate that Cathey doesn't credit Erickson for this or any of the other methods he's clearly borrowing.)

All in all, I found a great deal to agree with in Experiencing Reality—especially the points about tailoring the work to the client, the value of kindness, and the need to avoid idolizing teachers. Indeed, I found little to disagree with. At the same time, I found very little that challenged me.

Of course, as an editor, I have to say that in a field with far too many poorly-punctuated self-published books, Experiencing Reality stands out for having very few typos and only a few sentences I had to re-read several times to decipher. Even so, it could have used one more pass from a copy-editor, if only to tighten up the punctuation.

The book is a quick and pleasant read, and because it consists of short, easily-digested chapters, it will probably take its place in my bathroom next to Rosen's work. While it might not change lives or revolutionize the coaching industry, Experiencing Reality certainly provides an illuminating diversion for anyone in the business of change. For someone just beginning that journey, there is a wealth of wisdom and advice.