FIERCE Testimonials
"Fierce Illumination” portrays a compelling contemporary quest with grief as the catalyst for deep psychological and spiritual transformation. Martin Chesler takes us inside his vivid journey of loss and suffering with acute authenticity and self-revelation until we reach his final breakthroughs which are both luminous and profound."
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-James O'Dea - former President of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, celebrated activist and author.
Nobody is ready for loss, especially the loss of one’s child. It is an aberration out of the natural order, and for many, breaks their spirit. For Chesler, however, it marks the beginning of a dramatic journey beyond boundaries, one that penetrates the veil between the worlds, making for a remarkable and inspiring book. "Fierce Illumination” is a compelling narrative spoken with a raw power that is simultaneously poignant and profound. Grief itself is a character in the book – a living beast, capable of transformation. Out of the depths of grief, life falls apart, but something new is born. At first, the newborn is mutant, uncomfortable, and out of place; but by the end, it is a man who has learned much about transforming separation and pain into abiding love and interconnection.
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-Glenn Aparicio Parry, PhD - Nautilus-award winning author of "Original Thinking: A Radical Revisioning of Time, Humanity, and Nature"
"Fierce Illumination” is the diary of a Phoenix. In its scrupulous attention to emotional detail, it will provide the deepest solace to those who have experienced the loss of a child. But " Fierce Illumination” is much more, it provides a medicine for the many experiences of loss that are so prevalent at this hour. In this writing, Chesler describes, in a tender, human narrative, his process of dismantling, reorganizing, reframing, and reorienting to a new version of power, as a human, yes, but more particularly—and certainly more rarely—as a male of our kind. He gives us here a view that most have never witnessed before. From this particular voice, in its inquiry, in its emotional depth, in its vulnerability, this offering is therefore more than just a truly moving story of triumph over indescribable loss, it is a also a map of understanding and perhaps an invitation to the process of deep transformation that is calling to our kind, and, specifically, to Men’s Nation.
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-Pat McCabe: known as Women Stands Shining - a Dine' (Navajo) mother, grandmother, activist, artist, writer, ceremonial leader and international speaker