How Not to Be Afraid: Seven Ways to Live When Everything Seems Terrifying

Written by Gareth Higgins and Kathleen Norris

Narrated by Gareth Higgins

The world seems terrifying. Whether your fear is about violence, shame, illness, money, meaning, or the collapse of certainty, you are not alone. Yet the power of the fear we feel depends on the story we tell about fear. Fight, flee, or freeze: are these are only options?



Growing up near the troubled city of Belfast, Gareth Higgins was schooled in suspicion, mistrust, and paranoia. Would someone be lurking behind the door? Was there a bomb under that car? Yet fear feeds on the stories we tell ourselves, Higgins claims, and in How Not to Be Afraid, he delves into the mechanisms of fear, as well as the quiet, immense strength of individuals and communities that refuse to let it reign.



Grounded in personal experience and expert reflection on violence, conflict transformation, and trauma recovery, Higgins traces vulnerability as strength to address seven common fears that plague each of us at some point in our lives. By examining such topics as the fear of being alone, the fear of not having enough, and the fear of violence and death, he invites listeners into habits of hope rooted in Celtic spirituality and the mysteries of love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ChristianAudio.com
• Release date: Feb 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781545919002

Gareth Higgins

Gareth Higgins (PhD, Queen's University Belfast) is the cofounder of multiple spirituality festivals, including Wild Goose, The Porch Gathering, and Movies and Meaning. He edits The Porch Magazine and is the author of How Not to Be Afraid. Higgins has been involved in peacebuilding and violence reduction in northern Ireland and lives in Asheville, North Carolina.