An Illustrated Autobiography by Eric Manning
The Meaning
The story of “The Secret That Kills / Spirit That Saves” was born out of creating over two decades of my illustrated spiritual expressions (paintings), many of which are included inside the pages of the book. My artistic-inspired writing takes you through my childhood trauma and oppression into dysfunctional adult issues which had a devastating result in the relationships I have encountered throughout my life. The book has many twists, turns, and mysterious spiritual experiences with a previously unknown God with a long-term affect upon my life.
The book also gives a unique psychological and spiritual perspective on the abusive and traumatic experiences from “the inside out”, and how they affected my life and the world around me.
The pictures and text contain expressions of repression, violence, abuse, and trauma so this book is intended for mature readers.
The Process
I’m still amazed at the depth of my childhood issues that had come out of me as I wrote this book! Never could I have imagined in a thousand years how much my parent-child relationship could form an identity inside me that was horrifyingly chronic and in desperate need of saving.
Save Me from my Issues
This image was originally created as part of a painting I did for my friend Stuart for a weekend “ministry” he headed called “Open Rebellion.” He also edited the entire book with me and formatted it for publication. The man you see being held by the angel indicates a soldier who had gone through a spiritual battle as he continued to reveal the repressive secrets that prevent him from receiving a true redemptive relationship with God and others, who wish to do the same.
How to Order the Book
The book can be ordered from IngramSpark or Amazon, and it is available in three formats: eBook (Amazon), Paperback (IngramSpark), and Hardcover IngramSpark. All three formats include color images (unless you have a black and white display) on almost every page.
I recommend the Hardcover version because it is the best experience since the pages and images are bigger.
You can order the book in the format you desire by clicking one of the choices below.
 | Kindle eBook Format * Includes images although the text doesn’t wrap around them. * Using a black background to view the images is recommended. * It is best read on a tablet in landscape mode. |
| Paperback Format * Size: 8×10 * High quality images on high quality paper. |
| Hardcover Format * Size: 8.5 x 11 * High quality images on high quality paper. |
Pull Quotes and Images
Here are various quotes and images that you will find throughout the book.
The Secrets that Haunt Us
“To this day, I have never experienced a deeper level of pain, a deeper level of anxiety, more rejection, so much brokenness inside me than I had with my father in my infancy and early childhood.” – Chapter 1
Childhood Breakdown
“Both of my parents were putting the weight of their issues upon me at the same time, and I slowly began to break down under the pressure of it all.” – Chapter 1
Desert Rose
“Never was I able to forget the impact that her kindness and compassion had on me in this time of grieving, uncertainty, and aloneness.” – Chapter 8
Between Life and Death
“God knows how many years I had been in such a dark and miserable place inside my parent’s fear, judgments, and religious beliefs which always translated into me being the Devil’s Child who was headed towards hell.” – Chapter 8
Crying for Redemption
“However, just a few weeks later, I realized I had taken some of my past with me from New York to Colorado.” – Chapter 11
