Praise for SOME NEW KIND OF TRAILER TRASH, PART ONE “In print, as in person, Brad Blanton is at ease in this first volume of his au- tobiography, Some NEW Kind of Trailer Trash, telling any tale about himself, in- cluding the most intimate, demonstrating the interior security and self-deprecating humor, which it would seem support his international reputa- tion as a gestalt therapist, seminar leader, and writer published all over the world. “He owns into his life in all its aspects, and finds in his weirdness his salva- tion, demonstrating the radical honesty he’s made famous, and rooting his self- understanding, which is considerable, in his childhood. I love this model so much I’m thinking about stealing it. It’s a great read. In the growing body of memoirs about the American upheavals commonly known as the 60s you won’t find another to rival this one for a wild ride, an exemplary union of idiocy and brilliance, flat out truth telling about everything, irreverent rants, hard-earned self-discernment, and the existential creation of meaning and purpose. Read it and weep, as I did, for the cost and the promise of living into one’s truth and finding there the one heart we all share. “In the days to come, when we and our children face into the results of our political choices, Brad Blanton’s work against artifice and subterfuge and in sup- port of deep democracy in all situations will be widely read as a guide from the dark to the light.” —Casey Hayden, founding member of Students for a Democratic So- ciety and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and contributor to Deep in Our Hearts: Nine White Women in the Freedom Movement, Being Bodies: Buddhist Women on the Paradox of Embodiment and Hands on the Freedom Plow: Per- sonal Accounts by Women in SNCC “Some NEW Kind of Trailer Trash speaks directly to the ‘trailer trash’ in each of us and serves as a living example of how we—each and every one of us— is challenged to find the balance between being an asshole and being a hero in life. And the way to uncork our courage to take a stand and consciously destroy the useless and barren ideals so we can create present moment beauty and open the gate for real transformation is to be with, express, and accept the particular kind of asshole that we are so that we don’t, in trying to manage or control our- selves or others, lose, smother, or cripple the hero we could be and in fact are. There’s an angel/asshole in each of us, and to love the asshole gives us a way to ‘hire’ that part of our nature to do good. That way we are less likely to blow up our own happiness and more likely to be contactful authentic beings consciously capable of co-creating life together. You may not find yourself willing (or even have that much desire) to as fully express anger or take risks as wild, or spend as much time (or as many ways) having sex as Brad describes in his book, yet I’d bet good money (and a chunk of your happiness) that the gods of change, desire, and creation within you are too often stopped by the old rules and the deference to external authority rather than being given freedom to take us more deeply and intimately into the wonderful, mystical, and sacred world hidden in plain sight behind the wall of belief and suppression that dulls our senses. “This book takes what is taboo and restores it to realm of sacred, showing how, albeit imperfectly, the wounded healers and sacred tricksters throughout myth and history, often lived full and reckless lives yet inspired and assisted hu- manity along the way.” —Raven Dana, author of The Resurrection of the Mortician’s Daughter “Brad Blanton has managed to mix a lot of wisdom, charm, and truthtelling into a fun and joyous autobiography that is a pleasure to read. You learn more about America in his story than you will from dozens of years of watching the TV news or reading the newspapers or attending most colleges! Read and enjoy.” —Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun Magazine, chair of the in- terfaith Network of Spiritual Progressives, and author of Embrac- ing Israel/Palestine “Oh, my, we are in for it now! Brad Blanton, lifelong dispenser of crazy wis- dom, blatant truth, and sidesplitting blather, has written an autobiography, and I for one couldn’t be happier! I’ve been a big fan of Brad’s writings from the get-go and have always wondered where a guy like that could’ve possibly come from. It turns out he comes from pretty much the same place I’m from and the same ii place the rest of us can come from, too: a sincere dedication to telling the truth always and in all ways, even if you have to be obnoxious about it from time to time. Read this book, and find out how you, too, can become an enlightened hill- billy, spiritually evolved atheist, pure-truth bullshit artist who is focused night and day on waking himself and the rest of us up from the Big Trance.” —Gay Hendricks, author of The Big Leap and Five Wishes, and co- author of Conscious Loving “Brad’s story is medicine for our time. I hope many people of my generation read this book, so that we can learn from the courage, struggles, mistakes, and realizations of his.” —Charles Eisenstein, author of The Ascent of Humanity and Sacred Economics, and other books and stuff. He writes about civilization, economics, consciousness, and the transition to a post-bullshit age “You can learn from Brad Blanton, his life, and his book. He is a radical and conservative all wrapped up into one human being. He wants to change things a lot for the better, so he is a radical. And he wants the things that are working today and have worked forever, to keep working, so he is a conservative. You can learn from Brad’s courage and you can learn from what he wants to teach. Read and laugh and think and learn, and enjoy the journey. This book will really take you someplace, and it’s a good place for sure.” —Herb Rubenstein, founder and executive director of THE LEEEGH (Leadership in Education, Energy, Environment, Governance and Health), co-author of Leadership Development for Educators “Brad Blanton changed my life. Everyone will benefit from hearing his story.” —Mandy Stadtmiller, reporter New York Post “I know Brad Blanton enough to flat out say that his is a life worth knowing, full of bold, adventurous and purposeful undertakings on behalf of himself and his friends and community. Brad’s decision to go for radical honesty adds a unique di- mension to the meaning of life and a powerful contrast to most autobiography.” —John Breeding, author of The Wildest Colts Make the Best Horses “I first read Dr. Brad Blanton’s books on radical honesty many years ago. Then, I took some of his courses, which made a powerful, positive difference in iii my life and my business. He delivers the message that being radically honest, au- thentic, and direct is far more effective than other ways of being and communi- cating. I suggest that you read this book if you want to increase your enjoyment of life and your self-respect.” —Jacques Werth, president, High Probability Selling Here are some more comments from Raven Dana—sent to me in emails before and after she wrote the blurb up above… I like to call them Raven’s ravins’… They make me happy and they are kind of a sampler so I’m putting them in here. “I am loving it… the beginning about the Scots-Irish especially spoke to me, of course since we share that background… and when you wrote: ‘Lord, lord. Pride and shame. I am proud to have the chance to apologize for all this. This is the blessing and the curse. This is the hole out of which I am still climbing, and from which I claim to have gained some virtue.’ I was reminded of something else I just read about the pagan inheritors of the Scots-Irish traditions, otherwise known as the Faery Tradition (not like little flitting beings, more like the tradi- tion that bridges the communication gap between seen and unseen influences) in which it is said that our responsibility is to redeem our ancestors—not in the Christian sense but in the sense that since we carry their accumulated history in our DNA it is our task to become more conscious beings and thereby right some of the wrongs our ancestors perpetuated on others and on each other. I really like that idea.” (So do I.—Brad) “I love the flashbacks... and occasionally I read something and it sends me off into my own history and I have to stop a few minutes and let whatever got triggered play out... I’m having quite a ride... I so appreciate you for how you are writing this... I also enjoy the good guy/asshole reality of being human that comes through... examples... “‘My capacity for compassion was growing, as was my inner rigidity as a moralistic dictator and a self-righteous prick.’… “‘I am responsible for the cultures I have been in, as they live in me; and I am the one responsible for the violence I’ve perpetrated on the people I love.