How to Live Like Our Nation’s Heroic Founders
By Peter R. Breggin, M.D.
Glossy Paperback 250 pages
Celebrate being an American and help others to do so as well.
Wow, I’m an American: How to Live Like Our Nation’s Heroic Founders inspires us to live by principles of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” in a responsible and loving manner.
Wow, I’m an American! captures the essence of what makes America great, while showing how to apply these principles to living our everyday lives. A resource for those of us who want to share our values with upcoming generations while reaffirming for ourselves what America really stands for—freedom and responsibility under God!Written in the spirit that simplicity is the test of truth and usefulness, Dr. Breggin’s words can inspire the entire family to understand and to live a life based on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
“I have read the book and enjoyed it. It ties it all together as a sort of ‘primer’ on the founders, their sacrifices and what they bequeathed to us and makes clear that now it's up to us. A good message on our heritage, our luck in being born here and the need to take responsibility for our own lives, happiness and futures.A good Christmas present for teens and anyone who hasn't studied or would like to re-familiarize himself with our heritage and the giants that created this country.”- David Keene, Chairman, American Conservative Union
"Takes a fresh new approach to American history that will give you a deeper appreciation of the people who founded our nation and how to apply their beliefs to your everyday life."
- William Glasser, M.D., psychiatrist and author of Reality Therapy
and Choice Theory
Wow, I’m an American! by Peter R. Breggin, MD teaches us to live like our heroic Founding Mothers and Fathers. In a bold new approach to the lives of our Founders and the principles they embraced, this book shows how these same ideals can inspire and guide us to live happier and more satisfying lives. Wow, I’m an American! demonstrates for the first time how the Founding principles of freedom, responsibility, gratitude, and love not only apply to government policy but also to the everyday challenges in our personal lives.A Harvard-trained psychiatrist and the author of best-selling books including Talking Back to Prozac, Dr. Breggin’s unique perspective combines the lenses of history and psychology. He shows how Founders like George and Martha Washington, John and Abigail Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Rush used their basic understanding of human nature to win the War of Independence and to create the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. This same understanding of human nature provides us the key principles for the successful pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. In this seamless understanding of politics and psychology, the author provides one consistent approach to understanding government and to conducting our personal lives.
"You've re-inspired my sense of patriotism along with the dignity and vision of the birth of this nation. I love how you carry forward the dream of freedom, love and responsibility. This book so beautifully weaves the greatness of these exceptional qualities into the texture of our shared history and the magnitude of how these Founding qualities inform and call us in the present. Thank you Dr Breggin!"
- Howard Glasser, psychologist and best-selling author of Transforming the Difficult Child—The Nurtured Heart Approach"As a historian, I admire Peter Breggin’s insight into the American past. As a parent, I am grateful for his wisdom about how to communicate with children. Wow, I’m an American! teaches a lesson that is as old as the Greeks and as astute as the Constitution: education in freedom and responsibility is the bedrock of a republic. If you want one book that explains for the whole family what America is all about, look no further."
- Barry Strauss, Ph.D., author of The Spartacus War and Professor of History and Classics, Cornell University"When I teach the history of American journalism, my students often don’t appreciate what the founders accomplished in creating a nation of principles and ideals. Peter Breggin’s book describes the magic and majesty of what the founders did for us. An inspiring book that my family, including my 16-year-old daughter, enjoyed."
- Christopher Harper, Associate Professor of Journalism, Temple University, and a former Washington Correspondent for Newsweek"The man who taught us to be fully alive rather than deaden ourselves with psychiatric drugs, now goes a step further to teach us how to live as Americans. Breggin brings us to marvel at what our Founding Fathers accomplished and the guiding principles they followed. The principles of freedom, responsibility and love are not only the foundations of our great nation, but can become the foundations for each of our individual lives. How could we have forgotten that? Breggin reminds us and inspires us in a most timely way. I read this book at a time when I was facing an important career decision. It was perfect timing, as if guided by the invisible hand of God, which our founding fathers believed in and experienced. I made the choice that led me to the most freedom and independence, which in turn allows me to become a grateful source of love – read this book and you’ll know what I’m talking about. I want my children to read this and for it to be our dinnertime conversation for a long time to come."
- Douglas C. Smith, M.D., psychiatrist, private practice, Juneau, Alaska; Commander, U.S. Public Health Service, retired."Take it from an Australian who loves America: This is a great primer on how to live like an American. I often wish that my American friends had more appreciation for the basic values that make your country unique and great. This book fills that need. It's written so simply that a teenager with no background in history can grasp the principles of the Founding Fathers and it's written so originally that even an adult with more depth of historical knowledge should find it enlightening. Its principles of freedom, responsibility and love can guide us both in our political thinking and in how we live our everyday lives."
- Brian Kean, Ph.D., Professor of Education, Southern Cross University, Australia Time Magazine on Dr. BregginHe has earned impressive academic credentials, published a string of books and shown up on Today and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Many patients rave about the doctor. “He’s a wonderful person,” says one satisfied customer. “He cares so much about his clients. He gave me the will to get better.”
Breggin didn’t start out to be a renegade. As his book jackets proudly point out, his background is pure establishment: Harvard College, Case Western Reserve Medical School, a teaching fellowship at Harvard Medical School. But early in his career, he became deeply disturbed by the treatment of psychiatric patients, particularly the many long-term residents of mental hospitals who spend their lives in a drugged-out state.
In 1971 Breggin declared his rebellion, launching the Center for the Study of Psychiatry in Bethesda, Maryland, as a way to push for reform.
