The Sexually Healthy Man

Book excerpt: DESCRIPTION: I grew up in the Southern Baptist church of the 90's during the height of the True Love Waits movement, accompanied by Joshua Harris' bestseller, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. If you don't know what I am referring to, consider yourself blessed. Many of the ideas perpetuated by this culture were infused with fear and shame, offering no practical help or guidance in equipping young people to become healthy sexual human beings. As I approached adulthood, I became accustomed to feeling shame around my sexuality; trying to white-knuckle purity and falling short over and over again. This left me feeling full of self-hatred and hopelessness. I hope for this book to serve as the guide I wish I'd had, providing comfort and clarity to those who find themselves in a similar struggle for sexual health. I have written these essays not only for men but also for women who want to understand what healthy sexuality can look like in a partner. May this book be life-giving to your sexual healing. May courage accompany you as you engage with these essays of spirituality, sexuality, & restoration.ENDORSEMENTS: "Most of us have some sense as to what God says about sex. Few of us have a sense of what sex says about God. In The Sexually Healthy Man, Andrew Bauman shows men how sexuality can be a window into understanding God more deeply; as well as understanding the glory and strength of our own masculine soul. With a rare blend of disarming vulnerability and trauma-informed clinical wisdom, Andrew lovingly helps readers understand the real nature of sexual brokenness. Best of all, he sets men on a proven path to living wholehearted and free in a way that will make us all think differently about sex, spirituality, and restoration." - Michael John Cusick, CEO at Restoring the Soul, Inc. Author of Surfing for God "The Sexually Healthy Man arises out of the immense courage of therapist, Andrew Bauman. The title may seem like an oxymoron to any man paying attention to a newsfeed or a mirror. It's tempting to see the debris of sexual harm around us and within us and respond with despair or minimization. Andrew invites us to an alternative path that is both unflinchingly honest and hope restoring. This is a generous book, full of stories and wisdom. The Sexually Healthy Man can guide you to personal healing and, in the process, it might also enliven you to be a participant in the seismic cultural change needed in our world today."- Jay Stringer, M.Div, MA Author of Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing "As a young therapist, I devoured Irvin Yalom's The Gift of Therapy - winsome and wise letters to his therapists and patients nudging them along in a journey of healing. Like Yalom's short letters, Andrew's essays are deep but accessible, courageous, and compassionate, offered out of the experience of a seasoned therapist. They're engaging invitations to heal our systems and ourselves by addressing our stories, our bodies, and our fears of sex and sexuality. What a gift!" -Chuck DeGroat, PH.D.Professor & Author "As a blogger who often has to pick up the pieces from women betrayed by the men they loved, this book made me hope again! What would the world look like if men would humble themselves, be honest, and reclaim health and wholeness? Let Andrew Bauman lead you on the messy road toward healthy sexuality--and real intimacy between the sexes." -Sheila Wray Gregoire, ToLoveHonorandVacuum.com, Author of The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex