Item: Again. Again and Again.: Awakening into Awareness - Essays and Stories
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Again. Again and Again: Awakening into Awareness–Essays and Stories by Mathias B. Freese | Book Review

Book Details

Again. Again and Again.: Awakening into Awareness - Essays and Stories by Mathias B. Freese
Published by Wheatmark on March 17, 2022
Genres: Essays, Single Author Anthology
Format: Paperback
Pages: 166

Having once been a psychotherapist who's never hesitated to turn the therapeutical gun barrel toward himself, Mathias B. Freese ramps up his radical reflexivity in this latest work, from confessional first-person narration to third-person "stories" starring "characters" named Matt. (This genre could be called meta-Matt.) "I write to know perhaps something about who I am," Freese writes. "I write to arrive at some awareness, however dim, about self or other, for when I have that fleeting moment of awareness, I feel at one -- true." Truly, Again. Again and Again. is a song of himself.

Rocker Billy Idol proves to be an unlikely but apt echoer here: "When there's nothing to lose and there's nothing to prove, well, I'm dancing with myself." As a one-man show, Freese puts the "dance" in "abundance," stressing an author's singularity, the innerness of writing, the sharing -- rather than the proselytizing -- purpose of artistic expression. In other words, as Freese says, "a book is one person's awareness as he or she sees it."

More than a few times, Freese had implied that Again. Again and Again. would probably be his swan song, his "final stirrings," his ultimate testament. How laughable, considering both his prolificacy and "urge and urge and urge" (as Whitman would gush). Sure enough, the author is no longer so sure that he's expressed enough, and it seems that yet another stirring idea spurs him to create again. Again and…

Source: Received from the author or publisher for review.

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My thoughts on Again. Again and Again

“Having once been a psychotherapist who’s never hesitated to turn the therapeutical gun barrel toward himself, Mathias B. Freese ramps up his radical reflexivity in this latest work, from confessional first-person narration to third-person “stories” starring “characters” named Matt. (This genre could be called meta-Matt.) “I write to know perhaps something about who I am,” Freese writes. “I write to arrive at some awareness, however dim, about self or other, for when I have that fleeting moment of awareness, I feel at one — true.” Truly, Again. Again and Again. Is a song of himself.”

This book of essays and stories provides the author’s profound look at his life through a series of essays and stories. It’s not a fast, skim-through type of book. Each paragraph, page, and chapter require thoughtful reading. I often sat quietly, thinking about how a section related to my life.

While the overall tone of the book is intellectual, humor shines through. If you can’t see the humor in life, you are missing so much. Life is nothing if not absurd. (My opinion)

One of my favorite essays in the book is A Shortage of Fish, where an 81-year-old man presents himself on a dating site. There truly was a shortage of fish in the sea that were interested in a man of a certain age and intellect.

Mr. Freese writes with profound wisdom gained from his many years of life. Maybe that is the best we can hope for, that we have gained insight and knowledge over the years.

I received a copy of the book from the author or publisher to review. This is my honest, unbiased opinion.

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About Mathias B. Freese

MATHIAS B. FREESE is a writer, teacher, and psychotherapist who has authored eight books.

After his first novel, 'The i Tetralogy' on the Holocaust, his second work, 'I Truly Lament: Working Through the Holocaust', won the Beverly Hills Book Award, Reader's Favorite Book Award, and was a finalist in the Indie Excellence Book Awards, the Paris Book Festival, and the Amsterdam Book Festival.

In 2016 'Tesserae: A Memoir of Two Summers', his first memoir, received seven awards. The following year his second memoir appeared, 'And Then I Am Gone'.

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