Confessions of a Color-Blind House Painter by Selwyn Mills Ph.D

Title: Confessions of A Color-Blind House Painter
Author: Selwyn Mills Ph.D
Series:---
Publisher: Create Space
Publcation Date: November 19, 2011
How Received: For Review
Rate: 4

Summary (as quoted from Amazon): “Confessions of a Color-Blind House Painter," a collection of autobiographical writings by Selwyn Mills, offers an account of the author’s life as well as his ruminations on painting, psychotherapy, friendship, romantic love, poetry, prison, philosophy, relationships and cats, among other topics. Mills split his professional life between two concurrent careers – he worked as a decorative painter in the mornings and led psychotherapy sessions in the afternoon. Although these types of work might appear quite different, Mills describes how each profession deals with depression and renewal. He offers an eclectic collection of musings on various topics, each one weaving personal narrative with opinion and insight. “Confessions of a Color-Blind House Painter” reveals a portrait of a life made up of equal portions of intellectual, creative and emotional elements. Written in a roving style quite different from a straightforward autobiographical account, the book is intended to entertain and engage readers with a broad range of interests.

My thoughts:
Confessions of A Color-Blind House Painter was a very interesting read. Full of different poems, articles, and general musings, the book holds many keen observations on human nature. Out of the many different topics, three in particular caught my eye. One was the discussion of left brain/right brain differences (for example, the left brain is rational and the right brain is irrational). A lot of artists and craftsman discuss how they are left/right brained, and how it affects their profession. Mills Ph.D take on the subject was unique and insightful - especially the whole “neat/sloppy” concept - the idea that people who have neat/sloppy behavior are leaning either toward the left hemisphere or the right hemisphere of the brain- which I had never heard of before. The other subject that I thoroughly enjoyed reading about is a part entitled “Love Addiction”. It is about a conversation Mills Ph.D (as a psychiatrist) had with one of his patients who was having an affair. He breaks down how people, even if they are in a happy relationship, seek a love that they can control - a tamed love- so to speak - and how a love addiction is just as bad as any other addiction in the way that it can destroy your life. I also liked the part where Mills Ph.D discusses in detail color blindness, and explains that he has red/green perception, meaning that he can see a lot of colors, but that colors close to green and red are difficult for him to perceive. The only thing I didn’t like about the book was how many quotes there were. I’m sure that for people who like quotes, they would love those parts, but for me, it disrupted the flow of the writing and sometimes made it hard for me to follow the thread of the topic I was reading about. Other than that, I really enjoyed Confessions of A Color-Blind House Painter, and I recommend it to anyone seeking an interesting, insightful read.
4/5
~Moujnir