A well-written guide to medicinal herbs full of illuminating theory and practical information.
Herbs can help alleviate chronic illnesses and much else that ails you, according to this sprawling primer.
Rawls, a physician, bases his account of the medicinal action of herbs on an analysis of processes that can sicken and kill cells called “glycation,” which is the tendency of glucose molecules to stick to proteins, caused by eating too many carbs; the buildup of free radicals; the wearing out of mitochondria that supply cells with energy; the corrosive effects of constant physical and mental stress; trace environmental toxins that poison cells; the pervasive presence of microbes that infest and kill cells. To ameliorate these problems, Rawls recommends a diet heavy in vegetables and low in starch, plenty of sleep and exercise, water and air filters to remove toxic contaminants, social distancing, masking and condom usage to avoid microbes, and a low-stress lifestyle. Most of all, he suggests herbal supplements—powdered extracts are his preferred form—with antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and other properties. (Among the dozens of herbs he covers, from achyranthes to yohimbe, his personal favorites include the rhodiola herb, a Siberian “adaptogen” taken by Vikings to enhance endurance; reishi mushrooms; the herbal “brain revitalizer” gotu kola; and shilajit, a mixture of phytochemicals and minerals collected from Himalayan crevices.) Rawls lays out the medicinal uses of each herb along with recommended dosages, contraindications (many herbs are blood thinners, for example), and the occasional smoothie recipe. He goes on to prescribe herbal regimens for specific ailments from loss of bone density to low testosterone levels. Rawls knits together a wealth of sophisticated medical ideas, supported by citations from the scientific literature and his own case studies, in prose that’s lucid and down-to-earth but stocked with evocative metaphors. (“The immune system can target infected cells with antibodies, but in the process, it also inadvertently targets normal cells of the same tissues. You might recognize this as autoimmunity. It’s like fighting terrorists hiding out in a city full of civilians.”) Readers interested in trying out natural remedies will find this an eminently useful and reassuring starting point.
A well-written guide to medicinal herbs full of illuminating theory and practical information.Pub Date: June 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-9823225-6-7
Page Count: 594
Publisher: Vital Plan, Inc.
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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
SEEN & HEARD
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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