📚 No Bad Parts Book Club - Weeks Four (of 5)

Week 4: June 22–28

Chapters 7–9 (pp. 107–158)

Alright… here we go.

I have officially reached the point where I have very little interest in picking this book up because it is just feeling kind of… blah.

Which is a bummer.

Because I do believe in parts work. I use parts work in a lot of my own clinical work. There are genuinely useful ideas in IFS.

But this book is increasingly giving: interesting clinical material, explained in a way that makes it hard to stay awake. 😩

I keep hoping we will get to a chapter that really stands out, feels especially compelling, or makes all the slower/drier sections feel worth it.

So, here is Week 4 as we kick off our almosttttt final week of reading…

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Chapter 7: The Self in Action

Most of this chapter focused on a session with “Ethan and Sarah.”

I was cautiously optimistic!

A chapter mostly focused on an actual case example felt like it could be more engaging and useful than some of the earlier sections—and parts of it were.

I appreciated having more context for what this work can look like in practice.

I also appreciated that Schwartz included more disclaimers around this kind of exploration, particularly around pacing and the fact that this work can bring up a lot.

That said…

Ending the chapter with his own near-drowning experience was rather brutal.

It felt like a really intense and, honestly, unnecessarily traumatic example to use in a book that is meant to help people self-coach with IFS.

And while I understand that trauma examples can show the potential depth of the work, it also felt like a lot to ask readers to sit with—especially after many chapters that have encouraged people to explore their own internal worlds without much individualized support.

I found myself wishing for more examples of everyday conflict, anxiety, relationship stress, body image stuff, work stress, grief, decision-making, or the kinds of internal battles many of us are navigating on a regular Tuesday.

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Chapter 8: Vision & Purpose

The emphasis in this chapter seems to be on finding ways to be more “Self-led”—the IFS language for healing, reconnecting to ourselves, and connecting with our values.

On paper?

I am on board with all of that.

The idea of making choices from a place of more clarity, compassion, calm, courage, and connection rather than fear or reactivity is meaningful.

But this chapter was not really my jam.

There were a few glimmers that I liked, but overall it felt pretty abstract and, again, a bit preachy.

And then…

OOOF.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. 😩

Yet another old white man putting Maslow on a pedestal—while overlooking the fact that Maslow’s popularized hierarchy is tied to the appropriation and misrepresentation of Blackfoot wisdom.

This is a helpful read if you want to dig into that more: Maslow Got It Wrong

It just feels like another missed opportunity.

Especially in a book that repeatedly asks us to think about healing, connection, belonging, purpose, and what helps people thrive.

There are so many ways to talk about those things without defaulting to the same narrow, Western, individualistic white male frameworks that get cited over and over again.

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Part Three: Self in the Body, Self in the World

Chapter 9: Life Lessons and Tor-Mentors

This quote is a pretty good example of the tone of this entire book:

“We are sacred beings—as are our parts, as is the Earth.” (p.150)

OK, sure.

I do not disagree with the underlying sentiment.

But the way the book writes about these different aspects of ourselves often just does not feel very relatable to me.

It is like someone is writing about something clinically interesting and potentially helpful…

…but writing it in Old English.

Or Latin.

Or the most boring version of a spiritual self-help book imaginable. 😅

I can imagine this language really resonating for people who already connect strongly with spiritual or sacred-language frameworks.

For me, though, it often creates distance from the material rather than helping me connect with it.

That said, there was one thing I majorly agreed with:

“I’ve always cringed at the New Age belief that everything that happens is designed to teach you something. I’m not a big fan of mistaken, Westernized notions of karma. Bad things happen that have nothing to do with lessons or with our behaviour in this life (or previous ones).” (p.152)

YES.

Bad things happen.

They are not always meaningful.

They are generally not ok or fair.

And people do not need to find a lesson, spiritual purpose, silver lining, or personal growth arc in order for their pain to be real and worthy of care.

I really appreciated that.

The chapter ends with two short exercises, which were fine to read through.

But again—and I feel like I am becoming a broken record here—the self-guided exercise format is just not landing for me as something I can meaningfully apply on my own.

AND.... I continue to think this kind of work can be useful.

I just think it is often much more helpful when there is another person there to offer structure, support, clarification/focus, and help with pacing.

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NEXT UP: The Final Week! 🎉

We are officially in our last stretch:

📚 Week 5: June 29–July 5

Chapters 10–Conclusion (pp. 159–190)

The end is in sight!

No pressure at all if you are behind, have skipped chapters, are reading slowly, or have quietly decided this book is not for you.

I am genuinely curious whether the final chapters will pull things together in a way that lands more for me.

See you for the final thoughts soon!