Healing the Masculine Soul: God's Restoration of Men to Real Manhood

I really enjoyed this book! Volumes that deal with the deep aspects of what it means to be a man or woman have always interested me. In a day and age where relatively small groups are trying to push the idea that gender is only physical and nothing more, these are especially important. This discourse and other like it fully invalidate such arguments and render it powerless.Gordon Dalbey brought up several interesting topics, and views I never considered. I would have given this five stars, except I felt it ran out of steam at the very end of the book. It wasn't clear to me if specific steps to reclaiming one's masculinity were supposed to be presented or not. Maybe I was expecting something out of this book that wasn't supposed to be. Either way, this is a fantastic read that has helped me better understand the deeper details of what it means to be a man.I've read elsewhere this book being described as a more thorough "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge. I heartily agree and more. Highly recommended for any man, or woman looking to understand men better.

We are all wounded by our fathers in some way. When you are ready to get real about what being a man is meant to be... A true man. An authentic man. A Real Mans' Man. This book will help both sexes because it will give sound wisdom & workings of how a man thinks, what makes him too "clingy & wimpy-codependent", or more often than not, too macho & the "lone wolf.This book changed my life. I agree with a pastor friend of mine who was the head of Teen Challenge for the state of California when he said the following: This is THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK written to MEN outside of the BIBLE".Spoiler: This is a in your "Get in YOUR FACE & GET REAL" type book. Long before Dr Phil made it a popular style of counseling.IF you are still happy playing the all the petty little games-DON'T READ IT, cause you're definitely not at "your personalbottom" yet.When you want to understand your father better, or if you just want to understand yourself better, this book is the "swith" that will turn those dark places into well lit rooms! I have given several copies away * if I had $1000,000 that i could do so, I give them to every man I meet.Ladies, if you need to understand your husband, dad, brother, uncle cousin-this book can be your "Light Switch" into why they are SO NOT EVER going to be "more like you".

This book contains fundamental insights missing in Men’s lives. I enjoyed learning to identify my missing links. I strongly recommend this bill as spiritual and emotion regulator.

Dalby is firmly in the Evangelical Fundamentalist branch of Christianity and assumes his reader is the same. I am not and found myself trying to read past his "true faith" assumptions about his own world view and that of his readers. Regardless, there are some interesting if controversial thoughts on the role of men/fathers in the western world.His chapter on homosexuality will drive you up the wall if you believe, as I do, that sexual orientation is not entirely a result of nuture (versus nature). Regardless, I suspect as we have moved to accept varieties sexual orientation as a natural aspect of humanity, we have overlooked a great deal of the emotional damage that many of us suffered in the process of growing up. Dalby suggests that much of the destructive behavior of men (sexual abuse and obsessions in addition to poor parenting skills) can and should be traced back to emotional wounds that can and should be healed. His remedy for healing is the Grace of God as he understands God.I found myself mentally translating his view of "God" into my view of "higher power" in order to keep reading. If you can do the same there is some interesting and challenging material here.

I bought this book for my husband, but I was the one who ended up reading it. I was intrigued by the insight into men and think every woman should read this book in order to pray for their husbands and son's more effectively. I believe this author has keen insight and wisdom straight from the Father's heart and he truly understands the male's soul. What a tremendous book that contains so much healing. Truly this should be read by men to set them free from the lies of society that try to dictate what a man is and read by women to gain greater insight into the men in their lives. Great book and I highly recommend it!

This has been one of the most helpful books I’ve ever read. Truly. I’m a counselor and Chaplain and have recommended this reading to many. Gordon Dalbey gives a wealth of revelatory information that helps heal wounds from the past.

Very impactful book! Have gone through it twice in small groups (4-7) of men, and that spawned additional small groups. Really drives introspection.

There were a few items in this book that impacted me deeply. Because of those, the book was worth the read. There was also a few items that caused me to say "thats what's wrong with Christianity".

An extraordinary book, prayerful, biblical and a beautiful gift from the Lord for those wishing to unlock their Godly masculinity, or as a woman, understand the deep needs and desires of men. Highly recommended, a very accessible book, but full of profound insights that will leave you pondering after every page.

Very happy, thank you :)

Great...soul searching...

'My goal in this book is not to offer yet another guide for helping men to 'embrace our feminine side,' nor to become more socialized by the world's standards. Rather, I want to encourage us as men to follow Jesus,' writes Dalbey. And this is what he does. Dalbey talks about initiation rituals, the role of fathers, homosexuality and men in the church as well as and a number of other things from a spiritual, not a political position. Thus, the book is refreshingly independent of political correctness, but it's not a matter-of-fact Bible-bashing book either. Dalbey practices what he preaches ('Masculinity is rooted in truth-telling'), and yet, I would have liked him to take a clearer and more critical stance on contemporary feminism. At one point he seems to fall into the trap of false woman appraisal himself: While he laments that the 'church has done much over the centuries to encourage men to pursue feminine virtues,' only a few pages earlier he reports appreciatively how his wife 'tests how well a church honors the needs of its women.'All in all, however, this book has helped me to see a number of things I hadn't seen before, like the role of fathers in confirming their children's gender (girls and boys) and the way out if your own father hasn't. I wish there were more people in our time like Dalbey who stand up and raise their voices for a biblical and spiritual understanding of manhood - and womanhood.

This book helped me to know many unknown things about me. Certainly, this is a message from God, The Father, to all men who want to align their path with the Call idealized by Himself.