Review: No Way Out But Through - Graham Aitchison

 

It's not very often that I have shared books of Testimonies on my site but have you ever read a book and thought WOW , I can relate to that and that person would be an interesting , i guess person to meet. That's what this post's book is all about.

Review: No Way Out But Through - Graham Aitchison- June 2012

Have you ever read a book and thought while reading it , I can relate to this or I've been in that exact same boat or even a similar situation ? That's what I found while I read Graham's testimony No Way Out But Through. 

No Way Out But Through is separated into three different parts - The before , during and after though of course they aren't labelled like that .

We have Part One- "The Way Things Were". In this section we readers go on a journey all the way back to the early days of Graham's life. He talks about Addictions which is something that we all have encountered one way or another be it a physical addiction like Drugs, Alcohol or something that goes unnoticed which brings us to the second section Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This was a subject that I could identify quite strongly with as I have a minor case of this in the way I have to have everything tided at work , I can't stand having a messy desk and the fact I have to shelve everything at work as to me , it's unnecessary mess. I can leave it at times , but it will find a niggly way to get on my nerves. However in Graham's case, the OCD played a huge part in his life as we read ancedotes of having to miss the bus as he couldn't remember if the door was locked or not.  With OCD , the needs to be a perfectionist and have a strong sense of pride come hand in hand , in which Graham discusses his emotions and the need to be perfect. With Depression , more often than not comes the need to have that quick fix , the high to keep you happy before you sink into your next low. Many people who suffer from Depression fall into the trap of victim mentality , the mindset of "poor me" and find it hard to escape.  Graham goes into a lot of detail about the victim mentality and I found that it gave me personally a clearer insight into the way a person could easily fall into that mindset.

A major thing, that I recognised when reading Part One and a theme that moves into the other two parts was that Graham's personality due to what he was going through was very eerily similar to that of a Dr. Jekyll/ Mr. Hyde as he was able to switch so easily from one set of emotions to another and switch almost personalities with playing both the Bully and the victim. All topics that are covered in Part One .

Part Two is "Learning to Heal" - this is the time where Graham gave his life to the Lord and started to learn about his ways , the spiritual journey of forgiveness , honesty and discernment- all the characteristics that God loves us to have. I found this part really interesting and something I am going to have to research more into was the learning of spiritual ties from generational links. As some of the ancedotes Graham used again ring true in my own life. The other part that I really enjoyed and I know alot of people will find it helpful to read and understand is the complexity of mental illnesses and the Christian faith as it is very rare that you will see or hear the church touch that topic, yet it is a topic that affects so many people - Christian and Non-Christians alike. He also talks about having the ability to journal and correctly, this is one of the things that I strongly believe in and have found on my personal journey through life that it has been one of the main things that kept me going and not sucumbbing to the darkness of depression, as in my own life it could have been so easy so many times to go there and not come back up.

Last but not least , Part Three talks about the Observations and Theories that Graham experienced. It is a section where as a Christian we can read and understand how God is working through our lives and how he can help you , no matter what you have been through God is always there for you. As remember readers, no matter what you are going through there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and not to be cliched but you can get through it and you will :)

No Way Out But Through by Graham Aitchison is an inspirational read which I recommend that every person whether you are Christian or Non-Christian, though you might find it more relevant if you are a Christian or deciding to become one . What I loved most is that it's not written by an Old person , no-one big and famous -yet :P . It is a testimony written by someone in his 20's , a testimony that could have easily been you or me in the situation.