Anyone that wants to understand Alexander Lowen's approach to life or approach to therapy should read this book. That is not because he did not explain himself well previously, but because his personal high integrity is an aspect that, while it was gleanable from his other works, it could not so clearly be demonstrated as with a biography. What really stands out in his life story is the steadiness with which he followed what felt and seemed true, and was not distracted by what would be popular or advantageous to him.Stylistically, the book has two parts: 1) early chapters that he had written previously and not published. These cover his early years and are dense, informative, and instructive as is usual for Lowen. 2)Later chapters were based more on oral reminiscing and the help of an editor. These cover the years of the Institute of Bio-energetic Analysis, (later International Institute of Bio-energetic Analysis) and while they are less instructive about Lowenian therapy, they are instructive about the difficulties of keeping any organization true to it's original vision.