Rating 5*. If you want something unique to help break you out of your humdrum middle class existence, then this is a good start. So the book is written by a clinical psychotherapist, with 20+ years of experience of working one on one with men and running weekly men’s groups for the same time. So he’s got the experience in the trenches. But normally with therapists, you also get boring, straight-laced, and generally uninspiring humans too. This guy is very different, which is pretty evident from the opening page about him taking toad halucinegenic to explore the inner workings of ones darkest repressed psyche! Plus he’s a guitarist, so he’s clearly a bit cooler than your average shrink. Anyway, that’s all just to say this will be a bit different to your normal self help book. The general concept is to own up to and face your demons, rather than repress them. We’ve all seen what happens to priests when they repress, eh? It’s also reassuring that a therapist is still learning and growing himself as he guides us through his own experiences. Haven’t finished yet, as it’s challenging, deep work and only had it for a day or two. The questions at end of each chapter (see photo example) are almost the best bit and take it from a good read to real work on yourself that you can revisit over time as a check-in. It’s something out of the ordinary, there’s 100s of books on Amazon in this field but none like this and will give you a different route into yourself. Go buy it. Now. Or else the demon inside you will get you. ~ Jamesper, Amazon UK

Rating 5*. "That's the price you pay when you agree to feel, to feel it all, no matter what the cost, no dumbing down of the senses nor dulling of the taste buds, bitter, sweet, and everything in between, sometimes nectar, at other times bile—the juice of existence comes in all flavours." Jerry Hyde—the most dangerous therapist in the world—takes us on a thrilling and necessary journey into our shadow side, mixing deep insights gained from 30 years as a therapist with (a lot of) first-hand experience of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Laugh out loud funny, moving, searingly honest, for women who want to understand men, and men who want to understand themselves, Jerry Hyde's Empathy for the Devil is the perfect way to begin our journey to being healthier, happier selves by reminding us that the path into the light goes through the darkness. ~ SJ Hopgood, Amazon UK

Rating 5*. This is not your typical self-help book! Each of us will have a different relationship with it. The book tackles many wide and varied subjects, interspersed with experiences from Jerry Hyde's own life, some sad and shocking (his young adulthood), others funny and inspiring (his adventures as a "gonzo" therapist). The book meanders about freely under the three (very loose) banners of Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll and is an easy read. There are nuggets buried everywhere but also some powerful themes running all the way through, which the author returns to when least expected. One is addiction and the pain it soothes. This, for me, is where the book does its heaviest lifting. Anyone coming to realise they have an addiction will get a lot from the refreshingly honest and direct way in which it is tackled. One of the other ways in which this is not a typical self-help book is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, with the author's self deprecating style and sense of the absurd in this world running all the way through. The author isn't slow to offer insights and anecdotes, either in support of a theme or just, one senses, because he felt like an interesting digression. He has plenty to say about climate change, globalisation, misogyny, racism, war and the loss of the tribe. Yet the book doesn't wander too far from the therapy path, and there is plenty of hard advice, with every chapter ending in an exercise for the reader which looks easy until you try doing it... A valuable read. ~ Ed Smerdon, Amazon UK

Rating 5*. Perhaps the hardest part of self-improvement is accepting the sides of ourselves we're not proud of. Most of us got into this work to try and change those sides, to try and improve. So accepting our imperfections, accepting we're not perfect, that in fact we've got dark sides, can be difficult. But it's essential because we'll never be perfect and trying to be just puts us on a hiding to nothing. What this book does brilliantly is explain not just why but how we can pull off the incredible feat of simply feeling good enough. I think you should buy it. ~ DebateWise Dave, Amazon UK

Rating 5*. Personal growth doesn't come from following plans or programmes. It is not to be found in any book with the word 'way' in the title. The work is found in stories and provocations. This book teems with both, it is powerful and profound because it is personal and utterly honest. This is not a book to be followed or obeyed, it should be smeared on. Jerry Hyde invites you to get dirty and to see what happens. ~ Justin Gibbons, Amazon UK

Rating 5*. I love the style, it’s got an energy that made it effortless to read which is an interesting contrast to how challenging a lot of the thoughts are…. I read in 2 days but it will stay with me and I am going to return to complete the exercises. It’s written bravely, full of colour and wisdom and also inspiring. A unique book. ~ Thomas Popiolek, Amazon UK

Rating 5*. Such a breath of fresh air! Jerry goes where few have dared going before: into your darkest corners. And it feels so good! Finally, no-BS guidance from someone who’s seen it all! Highly recommended! ~ benberg, Amazon UK

Rating 5*. The most important self Help book in the last 20 years. This book is really only for people who want to look deep into themselves and do the work , it is written in a uncompromising way to make you look at yourself and how you got were you are. It's definitely not for everyone and falls along the path for those who have taken the road less travelled in life. Jerry Hyde is definitely the Guru for the rock n' roll subset. ~ Scott Wood, Amazon UK

Rating 5*. Beauty-full and challenging. Took me several times to read this gem. not because i was bored, but because it was so confronting. Empathy for the Devil is a heart opener, and when heart is opened, it is sometimes more painful too. i felt a lot for Jerry Hyde, the writer who dig into so much of his wound, authorizing me to... do the same. this is courageous. There are lots of enlightening and challenging exercises to do. it was like looking in an inner mirror. filled with daemons and love. ~ thai truc mai hua, Amazon France

Jerry Hyde has traveled deep within himself as well as to the farthest horizons to understand how harm comes to us and how it may be healed. There is a profound, urgent wisdom in his work that is carried along almost pellmell by his enthusiasm for humanity and for life. I loved it. ~ Sebastian Junger, Himself

Jerry Hyde is a unique human being, life experimenter, and psychotherapist. I greatly admire what he's been doing, and his new work is a wonderful introduction to what makes him one of a kind. Luke Rhinehart - The Dice Man ~ Luke Rhinehart , Luke Rhinehart

A pinch of history, a dash of rock n’roll, a tablespoon of philosophy, cups of psychology and heaping bowlfuls of wisdom; this book is a radical recipe for diving deep into your soul. The seemingly simple self-directed questions that punctuate each chapter prove surprisingly potent. Jerry is honest, brave, powerfully vulnerable, direct; he won’t coddle, but his care is evident on every page. Ingest this book, it will transform you. ~ Melissa Unger, Seymour Projects, Melissa Unger