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WITNESS TO THE WORLD BEYOND

KEVIN V. COAN: AN EVIDENTIAL MEDIUM

An earnest and warm portrait that will appeal to the author’s fellow Spiritualists.

Former academic and nurse researcher Mawn presents a biography of professional medium Kevin V. Coan.

In her nonfiction debut, the author chronicles the life story of a man who, she says, “has provided a sense of peace and closure for those who have lost loved ones” for a quarter-century. She’s based her book on a series of in-depth interviews with Coan, with people who’ve known him personally, and with people for whom he’s done readings (the author herself has observed nearly 100 of them). Mawn asserts that Coan has contact with “Spirits” that started contacting him when he was a small boy growing up in Massachusetts. As an adult, he took a job with Amtrak, and stayed with the company for nearly two decades until 1999.While he was pursuing his career, he was also attending a Spiritualist church in Salem. The two elements of his life intersect frequently; at one point, for interest, he says that he saw “three Spirits” at the foot of his bed at a Washington, D.C. hotel during an overnight trip, but “he didn’t tell a soul about this vision.” He met other mediums through Spiritualist churches on Massachusetts’ North Shore and started, in the early 2000s, doing home readings for a steadily expanding list of clients. Over the course of this biography, Mawn writes with a tone of warmth and sympathy, which is involving right from the start. However, her prose style tends toward clichéd phrases that become increasingly noticeable and distracting, such as “a blessing but also a curse,” “the beginning of the end,” and “nip…in the bud,” which all appear on a single page. The author champions Coan’s resistance to people in medium circles who are “just making stuff up,” and she’s an engaging believer in Spiritualism who clearly intends this book for those who share her beliefs.

An earnest and warm portrait that will appeal to the author’s fellow Spiritualists.

Pub Date: May 27, 2024

ISBN: 9798990134607

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Imprint

Review Posted Online: July 31, 2024

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  • New York Times Bestseller

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TANQUERAY

A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.

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  • New York Times Bestseller

A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.

Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.

A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.

Pub Date: July 12, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2

Page Count: 192

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022

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MELANIA

A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.

A carefully curated personal portrait.

First ladies’ roles have evolved significantly in recent decades. Their memoirs typically reflect a spectrum of ambition and interests, offering insights into their values and personal lives. Melania Trump, however, stands out as exceptionally private and elusive. Her ultra-lean account attempts to shed light on her public duties, initiatives, and causes as first lady, and it defends certain actions like her controversial “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” jacket. The statement was directed at the media, not the border situation, she claims. Yet the book provides scant detail about her personal orbit or day-to-day interactions. The memoir opens with her well-known Slovenian origin story, successful modeling career, and whirlwind romance with Donald Trump, culminating in their 2005 marriage, followed by a snapshot of Election Day 2016: “Each time we were together that day, I was impressed by his calm.…This man is remarkably confident under pressure.” Once in the White House, Melania Trump describes her functions and numerous public events at home and abroad, which she asserts were more accomplished than media representations suggested. However, she rarely shares any personal interactions beyond close family ties, notably her affection for her son, Barron, and her sister, Ines. And of course she lavishes praise on her husband. Minimal anecdotes about White House or cabinet staff are included, and she carefully defuses her rumored tensions with Trump’s adult children, blandly stating, “While we may share the same last name, each of us is distinct with our own aspirations and paths to follow.” Although Melania’s desire to support causes related to children’s and women’s welfare feels authentic, the overall tenor of her memoir seems aimed at painting a glimmering portrait of her husband and her role, likely with an eye toward the forthcoming election.

A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.

Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024

ISBN: 9781510782693

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing

Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024

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