A thoughtful exploration of pain and truth.
This debut nonfiction book meditates on the nature of suffering using an 18th-century Buddhist poem.
Hakuin Ekaku was one of the great thinkers of Zen Buddhism, and his hymn “The Song of Zazen,” composed around 1760, is a poetic encapsulation of his philosophy. “In his day, Hakuin was to Japanese Zen what the Beatles were to rock ’n’ roll in the 1960s,” writes Lahn of the poet. “He was a radical reformer, reinvigorating the active practice of Zen, both within the monasteries and among the common folk.” Even so, the ideas contained within the poem are not inherently Buddhist: The author argues that Hakuin’s meditation on suffering and wisdom speaks to people across cultures and faith traditions. With this book, Lahn seeks to bring Hakuin’s poem to that wider audience, demystifying its sometimes-enigmatic verses and applying them to his own modern concerns. As the author explains, the poem “takes away far more than it gives,” helping readers shed the cumbersome ideas and emotions that get in the way of accessing the deeper truth of being. “The Song of Zazen” is not a lengthy poem—the translation by Norman Waddell that Lahn works from is only 43 lines long—but each short stanza is given its own elucidating chapter. The author’s prose is empathetic and accessible, supplementing Hakuin’s spare lines with relatable analysis. Here, he illustrates Hakuin’s insistence on the necessity of suffering with an example from his own life, when he became reliant on crutches after injuring his foot: “After a while, the nurse told me I could wean off the supports and walk freely again despite the pain. Although it was growth and progress, I found myself reluctant to experience the pain of a healing foot as well as go without the nice attention and sympathy the crutches and cane brought me.” It’s an unexpectedly breezy work, and Lahn is correct that one need not be a Buddhist to appreciate the simple, if unintuitive, wisdom that Hakuin and his poem offer.
A thoughtful exploration of pain and truth.Pub Date: Dec. 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-948626-78-1
Page Count: 220
Publisher: Monkfish Book Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A frank and funny but uneven essay collection about neurodiversity.
An experimental, illustrated essay collection that questions neurotypical definitions of what is normal.
From a young age, writer and comedian Myers has been different. In addition to coping with obsessive compulsive disorder and panic attacks, she struggled to read basic social cues. During a round of seven minutes in heaven—a game in which two players spend seven minutes in a closet and are expected to kiss—Myers misread the romantic advances of her best friend and longtime crush, Marley. In Paris, she accidentally invited a sex worker to join her friends for “board games and beer,” thinking he was simply a random stranger who happened to be hitting on her. In community college, a stranger’s request for a pen spiraled her into a panic attack but resulted in a tentative friendship. When the author moved to Australia, she began taking notes on her colleagues in an effort to know them better. As the author says to her co-worker, Tabitha, “there are unspoken social contracts within a workplace that—by some miracle—everyone else already understands, and I don’t….When things Go Without Saying, they Never Get Said, and sometimes people need you to Say Those Things So They Understand What The Hell Is Going On.” At its best, Myers’ prose is vulnerable and humorous, capturing characterization in small but consequential life moments, and her illustrations beautifully complement the text. Unfortunately, the author’s tendency toward unnecessary capitalization and experimental forms is often unsuccessful, breaking the book’s otherwise steady rhythm.
A frank and funny but uneven essay collection about neurodiversity.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9780063381308
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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