A sweet-natured anthology of feel-good stories about everyday life.
Mullen-Martin presents a collection of thoughts on life and daily comforts.
In this assortment of short anecdotes, the author consistently stresses the value of ordinary things like friendship and the importance of patience and forbearance in a world that’s become increasingly short-tempered. “Our responsibility is to be open to opportunities to provide encouragement, support, and empathy,” Mullen-Martin writes in a typical passage. A sense of gratitude pervades many of the stories (although they’re sometimes shaded by the author’s sadness about missing her husband, Randall, who died in 2020); in one entry, she recounts one of her regular coffee dates with her old friend Steve, during which they talked over everything from politics to being grandparents. She told Steve that she was thinking of entering an online contest to describe her best day ever, and when he asked her if she had one in mind, she replied, “It’s today!” She notes that not only did she have plenty of wonderful days to remember, but she also had a friend to share those memories with. Mullen-Martin stresses that community and connection are secret weapons against cynicism and despair, exhorting readers to resist “the deafening blare of those playing to our separateness, the things that alienate us from one another.” The author’s folksy tone is immediately endearing, and while her contention that “there is only today” might seem to conflict with the thread of nostalgia that runs through so many of her stories, her general point is well made, and her repeated calls for kindness and patience are warmly humane. “How about sending notes of gratitude to soldiers instead of protest letters to newspapers or angry posts on social media,” she suggests. “Let patience replace angst when a salesclerk rails against her employer’s choice of ‘Happy Holidays’ or ‘Merry Christmas.’” The book’s subtle thread of spirituality is heartfelt without being intrusive; readers seeking a quiet respite from the world’s chaos will find it in these pages.
A sweet-natured anthology of feel-good stories about everyday life.Pub Date: May 18, 2026
ISBN: 9798992009361
Page Count: 104
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.
All right, all right, all right: The affable, laconic actor delivers a combination of memoir and self-help book.
“This is an approach book,” writes McConaughey, adding that it contains “philosophies that can be objectively understood, and if you choose, subjectively adopted, by either changing your reality, or changing how you see it. This is a playbook, based on adventures in my life.” Some of those philosophies come in the form of apothegms: “When you can design your own weather, blow in the breeze”; “Simplify, focus, conserve to liberate.” Others come in the form of sometimes rambling stories that never take the shortest route from point A to point B, as when he recounts a dream-spurred, challenging visit to the Malian musician Ali Farka Touré, who offered a significant lesson in how disagreement can be expressed politely and without rancor. Fans of McConaughey will enjoy his memories—which line up squarely with other accounts in Melissa Maerz’s recent oral history, Alright, Alright, Alright—of his debut in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, to which he contributed not just that signature phrase, but also a kind of too-cool-for-school hipness that dissolves a bit upon realizing that he’s an older guy on the prowl for teenage girls. McConaughey’s prep to settle into the role of Wooderson involved inhabiting the mind of a dude who digs cars, rock ’n’ roll, and “chicks,” and he ran with it, reminding readers that the film originally had only three scripted scenes for his character. The lesson: “Do one thing well, then another. Once, then once more.” It’s clear that the author is a thoughtful man, even an intellectual of sorts, though without the earnestness of Ethan Hawke or James Franco. Though some of the sentiments are greeting card–ish, this book is entertaining and full of good lessons.
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-13913-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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