Nothing But The Truth Chapter 8

[Christina Smith]

Irecently took my daughter, (Bibliophile here on CBR), to a local book store to spend some gift money she had received. She chose this book after one of the staff recommended it, and I said it sounded interesting. You should soon see a review from her about this book but you get mine first. Then you can read the book and decide who is right. ?

Perhaps it was my background in law or because criminal justice was the area I was always interested in but never practiced. Or perhaps it was because this book, while fictionalized, is based on a true story. Either way, I found the book to be one of those that I stayed up well past my bedtime for just one more chapter.

This is the story of a 14 year old girl who is determined to get her father out of prison for a crime he insists he did not commit. It is as a result of her moxie and grit, working with a novice lawyer and a burned out reporter, that she finally gets to the truth, and takes down politicians and police officers.

This book is written by the real-life reporter who investigated the 1988 murder of a 12 year old girl in Boston that sparked the story. The police, desperate to show authority as a result of the drug fueled violence gripping Boston, quickly arrested a young drug dealer who was convicted on faulty evidence. In 2003 the Boston Globe, after investigating the case, published the truth about police coercion of witnesses and prosecutorial wrongdoing.

This Is Chapter/Lesson 3.6 from my book The Anxious Truth. I wanted to release a chapter to give everyone a look at what the book is all about. This is likely the most important chapter I wrote, so it seemed the the best choice to release as a preview.

Living in the moment is a focus exercise. Imagine you are trying to improve your posture. Each time you find yourself slouching or hunching over, you consciously correct your posture. You stand up straight. You may have to do this over and over throughout the day. Breaking the slouching habit, building the standing up straight habit, takes awareness, action, and repetition. The same goes for learning to change your focus from the future to the present.

Thinking about it, worrying about it, and ruminating about it will not change any outcomes. They will not protect you or save you from any horrible fate. These actions will simply fuel the fear cycle and make anticipatory anxiety even worse. Are you driving right now, or are you reading a book? Are you in the car right now, or are you chewing the eggs you cooked for breakfast? Are you on the highway right now, or are you brushing your teeth? Are you behind the wheel, or are you playing with your dog? Each time your mind goes back to the upcoming event, stop and return it to the present and the activity you are currently engaged in, regardless of what that activity is.

You will find that you have to do this again and again and again. It will be very difficult at first. You may find that you are frustrated. You may think that you have no control over the process.

Plan every activity leading up to that scary event, then execute that plan. Perform every activity slowly, deliberately, and mindfully. Start with opening your eyes in the morning, then sitting up, then putting your feet on the floor. Move on to standing up, then walking to the bathroom. Make every step you take before the event drive count. Time to brush your teeth? Just pick up your toothbrush. Then pick up the toothpaste. Then put the toothpaste on the brush. Then put down the toothpaste. Then put the brush in your mouth. Then brush. Break it all down into that kind of detail and execute every motion intently and with full focus.

This is to be expected, especially the first few times you try this new approach and intentionally put yourself into anxiety or panic-inducing situations. You will be afraid and uncomfortable, and you may even panic.

Doing nothing is a new skill for you and you may need to stop everything to focus on being non-reactive to your thoughts and sensations. When driving this may mean pulling over to the side of the road for a few minutes. This is not wrong or incorrect in any way. The more times you do this, the more you will develop the ability to do nothing while doing other things. I can have a full-blown panic attack while driving, lifting weights in the gym, or having a business meeting.

When you do nothing during periods of high anxiety and panic, the intense sensations and fear will pass. When you do it well, they will pass much more quickly than you can imagine. When they pass, you will calm down, be less afraid, and will generally feel better. You will have done nothing to save yourself or escape, yet you will feel better faster. You will experience the full force of anxiety, fear, discomfort, and panic, do nothing in response, and wind up perfectly OK.

This can be a problem especially online. Do your best to surround yourself with people who will be happy when they hear your new story. Look for people who will encourage you to keep going. Seek out people who may share your struggle but will use your new story to motivate and inspire them.

When we change our reactions to anxiety, panic, and fear before, during, and after episodes of high anxiety or panic, we set our brains on a new path. We weaken incorrect links and build new productive and positive connections. We leave wrong answers and bad cognitive habits behind while learning proper lessons and developing good brain habits.

I think the novel does a great job of expressing many issues through the characters. Tom exlplaining that women run around too much brings up the issue of prostitution and other trafficking jobs for woman to do. The woman then, and now, may not have the respect that they need to have for themselves. I feel as though society has shaped itself to be this way and Ftizergald is the one to bring it up. Gatsby wants to have Daisy again, his love for her never fails. It shows that your true love for someone does not truly go away. Even though he wants to recreate the past, Daisy may not want too, Nick says, "I wouldn't ask too much of her, You can't repeat the past." Nick is saying that just because you want something does not always mean you can get it; if you do get it than you cannot push it too far becasue you never know the breaking point of someone. Fitzgerald has created a novel that addresses issues that are still around today.

I agree for the most part but Nick is also saying that just because something worked one way in the past doesn't mean it will work that same way in the present. Gatsby wants the same love to just return between him and Daisy but it is possible that so much has happened within those five years that it is impossible to ever get back to where they were.

Chapter six further explores the characters' situations and experiences. The chapter reveals Gatsby's past and relates it to the present. I think the book comes to focus on Gatsby's creation of a "plan" to make Daisy his once again. Gatsby's ability to make his dream happen is what makes him a powerful and grand character throughout the book. It is also seen that Gatsby has as much money as Tom, but lacks the ability so socialize, relating to why people never know who the host of the parties is. Also, Tom seems to be intimidated by Gatsby and asks Nick "Who is this Gatsby anyhow?" (Fitzgerald 107). Tom also states that he thinks that Gatsby is a bootlegger, "I didn't hear it. I imagined it. A lot of these newly rich people are just big bootleggers, you know." (Fitzgerald 107). Tom may seem to be judging Gatsby because Tom may feel above him. Later in the story it can be inferred that a confrontation between the two will occur. Also, Gatsby wants Daisy to confront Tom and tell him that she has never loved him. Gatsby is trying to get Daisy's attention by trying to do whatever he can. Gatsby also transcended early struggles to build his own empire in hopes of regaining Daisy's love. The qualities of Gatsby becoming a self-made man are present throughout the chapter. In a way, I feel that Daisy is conflicted by Gatsby's origin, as she is a women of class that didn't need to build her self. To this point Fitzgerald has created a masterpiece, from love to wealth, many aspects of the american way of living is introduced in a personal view. It may be simply that the values of the characters' slowly change and kill the American Dream. The characters triumph in a whole new different way, through materialism instead of through moral necessitates. I really like how Fitzgerald uses symbols to communicate with the reader and also keeps the reader imagining.

I completely agree with the fact that Gatsby's hard work to accomplish his goals makes him a strong character in the novel. Not many of the characters in the story are capable of the hard work that Gatsby does, or have the motivation to work for what they want. Gatsby's dedication to make himself wealthy in order to impress Daisy portrays his love for her. And I agree that the characters in this story triumph over one another based on materialism and wealth instead of morality and who they are as people. When I read this chapter, I felt that Tom may not only feel superior to Gatsby, but he could also feel a bit intimidated by him as well. While Gatsby may not have as many personal connections as Tom does, Gatsby does not appear to be particularly shy around strangers, and does throw these lavish parties. Later in the novel, it is learned Tom has never thrown a lavish party like Gatsby does, therefore, it is not surprising Gatsby receives more attention than Tom does. It is because of this that I feel that Tom may feel a bit threatened by Gatsby, so Tom is sizing him up in order to make himself feel better. In addition, I believe Tom feels there could be a potential connection between Gatsby and Daisy, which is also causing him distress. At the party, Gatsby and Daisy danced together in public, so there is a good chance Tom might've seen it. Nick also mentions that Tom came with Daisy to the party because he was "perturbed at [her] running around alone" (104). Tom appears to be quite insecure about Daisy interacting with other people, therefore, I feel that while Tom may not know about the connection between Gatsby and Daisy yet, he senses that Gatsby could easily one-up him in Daisy's eyes, so he came to the party to watch her and make sure that she did not stray away from him and form a relationship with someone else, especially Gatsby.

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