Deadly Roots: The subtle destructive power of bitterness

by Richard Hindmarsh

Working as a family physician for four decades, I have seen lives destroyed by many agents. I have witnessed cancer taking the life of the young, heart disease kill people in their prime, and addiction rob the lives of many. Of all these agents of destruction, none compare to the devastating impact of bitterness. Bitterness will turn the wise into fools, the wealthy into beggars, and the delightful into the disgusting. Bitterness will steal your wealth, your health, and at times, your life. You do not want to remain bitter.There is no adequate medical or psychological treatment for the misery produced by greed-fueled bitterness. Some therapies will lessen the pain of the misery, but they are not a cure. The only effective remedy is spiritual. If you are living in a pond of misery, you are also bitter. No life circumstance can cause you misery without you being bitter. You will need to address the bitterness if you hope to escape the misery.This book looks at the early signs of bitterness so you can pull them out by the roots before they have a chance to establish themselves as a tree of bitterness.

49 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 19, 2020

About the author

Richard Hindmarsh is Associate Professor in Griffith University’s School of Environment, and Centre for Governance and Public Policy where his research lies in environmental politics and policy, and science, technology and society. He holds a PhD in STS from Griffith University (Australia) and his previous book on this topic is Nuclear Disaster at Fukushima Daiichi: Social, Political and Environmental Issues (Routledge 2013).

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but powerful. I had not thought about the more subtle aspects of the underpinnings of bitterness, more about the obvious fruit of bitterness. Truly, the aspects of greed and emptiness as precursors to entrenched bitterness (about a true or perceived injustice) make for a compelling framework.

It’s helpful that the former family physician not only worked to help others gain freedom from the slavery of bitterness (endless in its gnawing, self-destructive greed and spiritual emptiness) but also had to quell it in his own life. The link to addictive habits makes this an appealing read to anyone trapped in an endless rumination loop of denial.

A few spelling issues and grammatical oddities but nothing huge. It’s a good, solid effort toward a realistic unpacking of the many layers of a destructive thought process and habit.

[Melissa Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful perspective!

“Deadly Roots” is an insightful look into the causes and symptoms of bitterness in our lives. As in another book by this author, I began reading thinking that this is not an area of great concern for me only to realize that even impatience- something I do indeed struggle with and often laughingly dismiss- is actually “self-centeredness concerning time and space”. Hmmm! I found myself thinking about this over the next few days as the truth settled in.

Overall, however, this is a book that resonates with hope- there is a way to deal with the various roots of bitterness by surrendering our lives to our loving Savior. Recognizing and dealing with bitterness through Him will make our lives healthier on every level. Definitely recommend.