A Language Older Than Words by Derrick Jensen - Book Review

A Language Older than Words takes you on the nerve-wracking journey through an abused child’s upbringing. This controversy-filled 254-page book is a relatively accurate representation of Derrick Jensen’s childhood and the events that lead to him being one of the most prominent anti-civilization authors out there.

To the uneducated, this book might seem like a fictitious self-help book that just exaggerates the abusive nature of the society we live in. To some extent, this might be true, but only because no story is ever free of motivational concepts.

That being said, this book is considered to be one of the best in its category because of how it tackles a rather difficult topic with such a graceful and factual approach.

Truth be told, leafing through the first few pages, you might find yourself torn between impressions that this is a fictional novel, and a self-help book.

That is expected given how the Derrick starts with a somewhat loose description of the abusive relationship he had with his father.

How his father’s dominion over his family allowed him to physically, mentally and even sexually abuse them; which closely resembles the consuming technocratic society we live in today.

The book aims to fight the ignorance and lack of awareness regarding how much we truly affect our surroundings.

Truth be told, reading this book is a pivotal step towards opening your eyes to the gravity of the situation. However, it might take some time for you to completely grasp Derrick’s writing style.

He traverses between evidence-based parts and personal parts. All in all, it still outlines the atrocities committed by the self-proclaimed deities, which are always depicted as conquerors.

Their conquests have shaped the world as we know it today, and have instilled in us a culture of excessive consumption of the world’s resources, rather than coexisting with the countless creatures living with us on this planet.