by Brandon Anthony Shuman ; illustrated by Rachel Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A
An eloquent and beautifully illustrated examination of the Christmas season.
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A slim collection of Advent-themed daily Christian meditations.
In his nonfiction inspirational debut, longtime educator Shuman centers a series of daily devotional Christian messages on the time leading up to the Advent, the birth of the Messiah as related in the Gospels. In a succession of well-designed pages (with engaging watercolor illustrations by Long), Shuman briefly reflects on many aspects of the long Advent season. Naturally, some of these reflections touch on the excessive commercialization of Christmas holiday over the course of the last century: “we are bombarded with advertisements…reminding us of its hastening approach. But unless we are diligent, Christmas comes and goes unnoticed, un-cheered, and without care”—a parallel that Shuman effectively observes in the classic Nativity story of the star shining in the sky over Bethlehem: “The star shone for all to see, but only the Magi lifted their gaze to perceive its light.” This combination of exultation and faith instruction recurs throughout the book’s daily entries, each of which concludes with a set of “Personal Reflections” as discussion questions. One section, for instance, instructs readers that the message of Christmas is one of everlasting joy, followed shortly by queries such as “What does your joy indicate about the measure of your faith?” Each day’s reflection begins with a series of epigraphic quotations, with sources that pleasingly range from Church Fathers to the influential 20th-century theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Shuman is a passionate, eloquent writer with persuasive and lovely turns of phrase, as when he writes that “God chose man to be the parchment upon which He would draw his self-portrait.” Christian readers who ponder the wonder and meaning of the birth of Jesus will find this book to be a wonderful Advent keepsake.
An eloquent and beautifully illustrated examination of the Christmas season.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-7354403-0-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: Thousand Grain Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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New York Times Bestseller
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by Matthew McConaughey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 20, 2020
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.
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New York Times Bestseller
IndieBound Bestseller
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
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by Matthew McConaughey illustrated by Renée Kurilla
by Anne Heche ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 24, 2023
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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