Raised by Wolves, Possibly Monsters: From Mobster to Reiki Master - Hardcover

by Michael Swerdloff (Author), Jane Gerhard (Editor)

"Raw, compassionate, and perceptive, Michael Swerdloff's memoir RAISED BY WOLVES, POSSIBLY MONSTERS is a vital excavation of toxic masculinity's rot-and an urgent call for individual and cultural transformation." Edward Sung for IndieReade

This is a story about a boy who wanted to be kind and loving but was raised by wolves and monsters who taught him to choose violence and aggression. As the boy grew to be a man, he wanted to be a protector of women but ended up being what girls and women needed protection from. As a young adult, he saw women as his to take. He lied, cheated, and scammed his way through life until he couldn't.

This is his moving account of discovering healthy masculinity from the inside out. His journey has, at times, been sensational, at others, unbelievable, but for many readers, absolutely inspiring. Will the hungry wolves outlast the desire to be loving and beautiful? Can men truly change? What role can men play in making the world safe for women?

We lose so many men. Not everyone finds their way to the other side. Yet there is hope in witnessing the depth and commitment of a person willing to try to be better without knowing exactly how. This memoir captures one man's struggle to transcend his past and imagine an entirely new future for himself premised on compassion, care, and advocacy.

This is a story about hope. We do not have to be what they did to us, but it's our responsibility to do something about it. I wish for you to experience feeling loved, accepted, respected, and connected and to live a life of being the person you always knew you could be.

A portion of the proceeds from this book are going to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) and The Good Men Project.