An eye-opening perspective that New Age fans and open-minded readers should value.
A writer mixes metaphysics and hardcore science to map out a life plan.
In a scientifically grounded look at the concept of alternate realities, debut author Scott shows readers how to leave unsatisfying elements of their lives behind and shift into an existence where they are the people they want to be. It’s not the old TV series Quantum Leap, in which the main character is zapped backward in time and literally jumps into someone else’s body. Readers retain their own identities but leap into improved versions of themselves—who, for example, have better credit ratings or are free from addiction. The book distinguishes itself from genre tomes that take a purely metaphysical view of parallel universes because it accords equal, if not more, weight to the role of physics: quantum entanglement, wormholes and black holes, folding space, and warp drive. These ideas come from Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Richard Feynman, who developed equations about varying concepts of reality. The volume is organized in four parts, starting with the backstory that triggered Scott’s awareness of the ability to shift into alternate realities. He breaks his theory down to simple principles and starts by explaining them in a straightforward, easily understandable manner. In Part 2, he delivers practical methods to take control of one’s present reality: changing one’s name (as he did), moving to another home or city, or learning a new language. Then come the fun parts: learning his techniques to “hack reality” and move forward into a self-designed consciousness. At 400 pages, the book covers a lot of territory, with instructional chapters on how to maintain love, health, and prosperity. The author puts his own stamp on the theory of transurfing, which was developed by Russian physicist Vadim Zeland. While Zeland eschews focusing on the present moment and advocates looking ahead to compose the direction of one’s reality, Scott weaves in the tenets of mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and Zen. Rigorously researched, the book is lucid and instills confidence through the author’s calm, authoritative voice. The work should intrigue readers who don’t dismiss metaphysics out of hand or who at least refuse to paint an indelible line between New Age thought and science.
An eye-opening perspective that New Age fans and open-minded readers should value.Pub Date: March 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5445-0620-3
Page Count: 402
Publisher: Lioncrest Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A vibrant, motivational debut memoir.
The dramatic life trajectory of an international fashion model.
Kang’s story begins in Hong Kong in the 1990s, where she grew up with a host of stepsiblings within a familial “mixed bag of Asian and Caucasian lineage.” Though overweight and fat-shamed in school, she found solace traveling with her father while cringing from the cruelty of her Korean mother’s rampant alcoholic rages. Kang soon found motivation in a dangerous crash diet that shaved a third of her bodyweight in just four months. At the suggestion of her modern dance teacher, she approached modeling agencies and scored a lucrative contract at age 17 that took her around the world and garnered her long-awaited attention from men. Rushing in behind that sudden fame, however, came body-image issues and toxic relationships with drugs, transient friends, and a grab bag of potent laxatives and diuretics able “to get me to shrivel down to the smallest possible Mia I could be.” The author delivers the gritty details via a raw, street-wise narrative voice that feels engrossingly authentic. As her modeling career took off, the industry’s dark-sided pitfalls came into focus. “Everything about me was the same except that number on the scale,” she writes, “but that seemed to have determined my whole life.” She continued to struggle with eating disorders, drug addiction, and an obsession with maintaining the coveted “thigh gap.” During a vacation in Thailand, Kang accidentally discovered and fell in love with the martial art of muay thai, which eventually freed her mind and shocked her body into a healthier new direction that she believes saved her life and inspired the sobriety she enjoys today. A closing letter to her younger self reflects on her mistakes and the epiphanies that rescued her mind and body. Budding models and those who have ever battled weight issues or drug dependency will find Kang’s transformational narrative rewarding.
A vibrant, motivational debut memoir.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4332-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
A moving, heartfelt account of a hospice veteran.
Lessons about life from those preparing to die.
A longtime hospice chaplain, Egan (Fumbling: A Pilgrimage Tale of Love, Grief, and Spiritual Renewal on the Camino de Santiago, 2004) shares what she has learned through the stories of those nearing death. She notices that for every life, there are shared stories of heartbreak, pain, guilt, fear, and regret. “Every one of us will go through things that destroy our inner compass and pull meaning out from under us,” she writes. “Everyone who does not die young will go through some sort of spiritual crisis.” The author is also straightforward in noting that through her experiences with the brokenness of others, and in trying to assist in that brokenness, she has found healing for herself. Several years ago, during a C-section, Egan suffered a bad reaction to the anesthesia, leading to months of psychotic disorders and years of recovery. The experience left her with tremendous emotional pain and latent feelings of shame, regret, and anger. However, with each patient she helped, the author found herself better understanding her own past. Despite her role as a chaplain, Egan notes that she rarely discussed God or religious subjects with her patients. Mainly, when people could talk at all, they discussed their families, “because that is how we talk about God. That is how we talk about the meaning of our lives.” It is through families, Egan began to realize, that “we find meaning, and this is where our purpose becomes clear.” The author’s anecdotes are often thought-provoking combinations of sublime humor and tragic pathos. She is not afraid to point out times where she made mistakes, even downright failures, in the course of her work. However, the nature of her work means “living in the gray,” where right and wrong answers are often hard to identify.
A moving, heartfelt account of a hospice veteran.Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-59463-481-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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