I know what you're thinking. I know because I thought the same thing:

"Rubber room? What the...?"

Of course, the minute you pick up Perry Binder's tiny book titled, "Unlocking Your Rubber Room: 44 Off-the-Wall Lessons to Lighten and Transform Your Everyday Life," you're introduced to the concept of the rubber room:

Rub-ber Room (noun): A confining mind-set where thoughts and possibilities bounce aimlessly.

And from that point on, Perry Binder's teeny tiny book breaks the confines of being just another teeny tiny book. In fact, for a scant 145 pages, it packs quite a heavy punch.

Before I dive into the many ways in which this book surprised me, let me first provide you with a little background...

I met Perry several months ago at a meeting for the Atlanta Writers Club. He was in the process of publishing this book and I was intrigued the minute we started talking. You see, Perry is a lawyer. And, no offense to lawyers, but he's not what you'd typically expect. Perry is funny. Really funny. He sort of radiates personality. So, it surprised me when he said he was a lawyer. Shouldn't lawyers be stuffy and...well...boring? It surprised me further still to learn he had given up his lucrative career practicing law to teach it instead.

Perry is the kind of professor every college kid wants to encounter. He's inspiring, humorous, entertaining and while he's being all of that, he's also able to impart the great wisdom of first-hand experience. No, I'm not a law student. But after reading Perry's book, I feel like I've been there in his classroom, witnessing the power of a great teacher.

Unlocking Your Rubber Room shares, as promised in the title, 44 off-the-wall stories stretching from the somewhat absurd (Lesson 6: Buying a car from a dealer is like a New York City street fight) to the strangely practical (Lesson 5: Always have a sandwich bag, a cell phone, and a big mouth) to the heart-wrenchingly candid (Lesson 39: Know the consequences of regret). From beginning to end, the book feels like a journey, guided by Perry with thought-provoking stories, whimsical anecdotes, and even a few carefully examined legal cases.

I devoured this book all in one sitting and, the moment I finished the last page, I flipped back to the beginning to start it again. It's a fast read, but as I said before, it packs a heavy punch. The final section, a heartfelt commencement address, is perhaps one of the most moving pieces of writing I've read in some time. As I sat on my balcony reading the final words, I noticed that I was incredibly emotionally invested. In just a few short hours, I had walked with Perry through (what felt like) a lifetime. I immediately wanted to walk that path again - this time with a better understanding of where we would ultimately end up. And so, I read the teeny tiny book twice in one night.

I think a reader can get all kinds of things from this book. You can skim through it quickly, laughing at the funny stories. Or, you can take your time and contemplate the larger lessons being shared. You can pick it up now and again, flip to a random lesson, and put it down. Or, you can read it from teeny tiny cover to teeny tiny cover, all in one sitting (and possibly twice!). How you read it is up to you. And what you get is up to you.

All in all, I'm a big fan of this book and of Perry Binder. I'm endlessly fascinated by the stories in this book, even the short, silly ones that say so little while still saying so much.

A perfect example is Lesson 29: Sometimes, people don't always know when you're joking:

Sample questions my students have asked me during class:

• Are you a member of an organized crime family?
• Are you really in the witness protection program?
• Have you ever killed someone?
• Why do hotdogs come in packs of ten and the buns in packs of 8?"

Perhaps this gives you a sense of what Perry's class lectures must be like...

To wrap up this review, I'd like to encourage those of you who haven't picked up the book to do so today. And if you'd like to get to know Perry a little better, you're in luck! I recently recorded a podcast interview with him, and it's now available here on OfficeArrow. You can also learn more about Perry at his website, YourRubberRoom.com.