InstituteFreedom tells the story of fifteen adults who are seduced into attending aremote, month-long workshop at which they
are encouraged to explore their truenature. They are given permission to “be who you really are,” which isfine until they are confronted by an unexpected moral dilemma. All of itis recorded in a journal kept by Josh Burnett, a middle-aged, middle-class guywho is ripe for a mid-life crisis. What transpires runs the gamut fromcamaraderie to catastrophe; from lust-filled encounters to heart-breakingdisappointments; from soul-baring confessions to ugly violence. Whatmakes this story compelling is the way in which the reader is drawn into (andbecomes a part of) the good feelings, the security, and the euphoria that eachperson in the group feels as they bond together over the course of three weeks,only to have all of that “goodness” disappear in the blink of an eye. In the aftermath, everyone is forced to copewith the question: "How does life go on after the bottom has, seemingly,dropped out of your world?" Onlythen does one reveal his or her really true nature. InstituteFreedom is definitely not for the faint of heart. The
account encompassessearing commentaries on modern society, opinions on love and sexuality, and castsdoubt on the gains to be had from personal growth. It is an explicit account ofthe way life could be if we weren’t so fallible. Institute Freedom has aprofound impact on the characters
portrayed in the book and on readers who tagalong, page by page. In the end, the events portrayed in this book are alife-changing experience for all.