A detailed, uplifting, if idealistic, approach toward finding fulfillment in life.
A professional life coach blends her story with tips for others seeking self-improvement.
As an author of multiple self-help books, regional vice president for the U.S. Coalition of Black Women Businesses, self-made entrepreneur, and scientist, Russell is clearly very successful. In this book, she blends memoir with self-help as she guides others toward achieving their own dreams. With an emphasis on “vertically digging” within oneself (as opposed to “horizontally” amassing a list of “résumé-defined experiences” and qualifications that may not even lead to self-fulfillment), Russell’s signature “SOAR” concept encourages readers to “Step Out and Redesign” their lives on their own terms. Autobiographical sections range from inspirational, e.g., she describes her successful career in leadership, research, and development for a major pharmaceutical company, to relatable, such as when she faced financial difficulties that threatened to cut short her daughter’s senior year of college. As a devout Christian, the author’s personal story and advice lean heavily on the importance of faith and prayer. She cites God’s direct intervention in her own life, and Bible verses and inspirational quotes from religious figures occur throughout. Written during the 2020 protests against racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s death, the book does not shy away from issues of racism. The author notes her own experiences with prejudice and her resistance to corporate and societal “back-of-the-line expectations” that threatened to turn her into a “powerless, unrecognizable version” of herself. While not ignoring harsh realities of life in America, Russell is relentlessly optimistic about herself, God, and her readers, and she writes in a relatable, motivational tone indicative of a seasoned life coach. Charts, tables, and catchy acronyms abound and reinforce her strategies to “nurture, grow, and empower your life.” While self-empowerment rhetoric may be a bit heavy-handed for some, and the fervent Christian messages may alienate others, no one can deny the inspiration led by example in Russell’s own life.
A detailed, uplifting, if idealistic, approach toward finding fulfillment in life. (acknowledgements, author bio, references)Pub Date: March 23, 2021
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 151
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.
A noted actor turns to verse: “Poems are a Saturday in the middle of the week.”
McConaughey, author of the gracefully written memoir Greenlights, has been writing poems since his teens, closing with one “written in an Australian bathtub” that reads just as a poem by an 18-year-old (Rimbaud excepted) should read: “Ignorant minds of the fortunate man / Blind of the fate shaping every land.” McConaughey is fearless in his commitment to the rhyme, no matter how slight the result (“Oops, took a quick peek at the sky before I got my glasses, / now I can’t see shit, sure hope this passes”). And, sad to say, the slight is what is most on display throughout, punctuated by some odd koanlike aperçus: “Eating all we can / at the all-we-can-eat buffet, / gives us a 3.8 education / and a 4.2 GPA.” “Never give up your right to do the next right thing. This is how we find our way home.” “Memory never forgets. Even though we do.” The prayer portion of the program is deeply felt, but it’s just as sentimental; only when he writes of life-changing events—a court appearance to file a restraining order against a stalker, his decision to quit smoking weed—do we catch a glimpse of the effortlessly fluent, effortlessly charming McConaughey as exemplified by the David Wooderson (“alright, alright, alright”) of Dazed and Confused. The rest is mostly a soufflé in verse. McConaughey’s heart is very clearly in the right place, but on the whole the book suggests an old saw: Don’t give up your day job.
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781984862105
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.
The late actor offers a gentle guide for living with more purpose, love, and joy.
Mixing poetry, prescriptive challenges, and elements of memoir, Heche (1969-2022) delivers a narrative that is more encouraging workbook than life story. The author wants to share what she has discovered over the course of a life filled with abuse, advocacy, and uncanny turning points. Her greatest discovery? Love. “Open yourself up to love and transform kindness from a feeling you extend to those around you to actions that you perform for them,” she writes. “Only by caring can we open ourselves up to the universe, and only by opening up to the universe can we fully experience all the wonders that it holds, the greatest of which is love.” Throughout the occasionally overwrought text, Heche is heavy on the concept of care. She wants us to experience joy as she does, and she provides a road map for how to get there. Instead of slinking away from Hollywood and the ridicule that she endured there, Heche found the good and hung on, with Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford starring as particularly shining knights in her story. Some readers may dismiss this material as vapid Hollywood stuff, but Heche’s perspective is an empathetic blend of Buddhism (minimize suffering), dialectical behavioral therapy (tolerating distress), Christianity (do unto others), and pre-Socratic philosophy (sufficient reason). “You’re not out to change the whole world, but to increase the levels of love and kindness in the world, drop by drop,” she writes. “Over time, these actions wear away the coldness, hate, and indifference around us as surely as water slowly wearing away stone.” Readers grieving her loss will take solace knowing that she lived her love-filled life on her own terms. Heche’s business and podcast partner, Heather Duffy, writes the epilogue, closing the book on a life well lived.
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781627783316
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Viva Editions
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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