Buy this item and get 90 days Free Amazon Music Unlimited. After purchase you will receive an email with further information. Offer valid for a limited time only. Terms and Conditions apply.” Learn more here.
Includes your first audiobook free, a bonus book selected by our editors, unlimited access to exclusive podcasts and more. $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime. Learn more >
"From the time I was 17 until I was was 24, I was a substantial part of the white power movement. I was a founding member of what went on to become the largest racist skinhead organization on Earth, a Reverend of a self-declared Racial Holy War, and lead singer of the race-metal band Centurion, selling over 20,000 CDs of the most violent, hateful music ever made. There is blood from innocent people on my hands that will never wash off. There are kids today who listen to my voice bellowing my lyrics as they're getting drunk and geared-up to go out and hurt people. After 7 years of involvement, the combination of single parenthood and higher education finally instilled enough doubt in the racist dogma that I had vehemently promoted for so long to allow sight beyond the narrow view I clung to. There was one particular afternoon that marked my epiphany: I arrived early to pick my daughter up from daycare. No one had noticed me, so I took in the moment, watching with teared eyes as my little girl played with the other kids. It struck me that they were all children; not black children, or white children, but the sons and daughters of mothers and fathers. I thought of all the people I had hurt, whether with my own hands or by lighting some psychopath's fuse. Those people had moms and dads and brothers and sisters. How did their loved ones feel when they saw this person who was so special to them battered and broken? How horrible would it be to have my daughter exposed to such violence in the slightest aspect? Love for my child thawed a dormant empathy for people that I was never aware of. I have changed drastically over the years since then, becoming a person who seeks out and embraces the diversity of our wonderful human family. I didn't become this person with the intention of simply being the antithesis of what I was. It happened very organically once I became too exhausted to maintain the lies necessary to be a racist. Today T strive to study and practice basic human goodness-our innate need for compassion and the ability to give it. This core truth serves as the foundation for peace as it's common to every world religion and transcending of ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, and any other sort of difference that seems to sort human beings.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness.
5.0 out of 5 starsINCREDIBLE READING! TOUGH SUBJECT BUT WELL WRITTEN AND WELL RECEIVED.
Reviewed in the United States on 30 August 2017
Verified Purchase
I PICKED UP THIS BOOK AFTER THE CHARLOTTESVILLE INCIDENT. AS A PERSON OF COLOR (AFRICAN AMERICAN) WITH ROOTS IN THE SOUTH (MISSISSIPPI), I HAVE NO RESPECT FOR WHITE SUPREMICIST AND THEIR AGENDA. I WILL NEVER CONDONE, ACCEPT OR EVEN DIGNIFY THIS BEHAVIOR AS IT HAS NO PLACE IN MODERN SOCIETY. THAT SAID, THIS BOOK WAS AN "EYE OPENER" AND MICHAELIS ARNO IS QUITE CURAGEOUS TO BRING HIS STORY TO US. THE COMMON DENOMINATOR IS "LOVE" AND "MINDFULNESS"; TOOLS WE ALL POSSESS AS HUMANS. HE FOUND A WAY TO USE THESE TOOLS TO OVERCOME HIS ILLNESS OF RACISM. HE ALSO OPENED HIMSELF TO OTHERS WHICH WAS INSTRUMENTAL TO HIS TRANSFORMATION AS A HUMAN BEING. MUCH LOVE TO THOSE WHO SEEK TO FIND A WAY OUT OF HATE. THERE IS LIFE AFTER HATE....!! THANKS MICHAEL FOR SHOWING THE WAY, IT TOOK SOME COURAGE TO DO SO.
2.0 out of 5 starsI was hoping to read in more detail about how ...
Reviewed in the United States on 27 March 2017
Verified Purchase
I was hoping to read in more detail about how the author came to change his ways and how he became friends and interacted with those he had hurt in his past. I understand that he needed to tell about his prior life, but I felt there were too many details about that aspect of his life and not enough of his later life.
5.0 out of 5 starsA journey from darkness to golden sparkly light♡♡
Reviewed in the United States on 24 February 2017
Verified Purchase
I was genuinely impressed with the authors story.It was so real and it really hit home as I have known people like him in my lifetime .For him to do a complete 360 and turn his life around is an inspiration for all humanity.Change of the heart and mind can happen if you do the footwork, and open your heart to all .I encourage people whatever your journey has been thus far, to read Arno's book.You won't be disappointed.You might even learn a valuable lesson.