A well-crafted, if not entirely original, work for those looking to spring themselves from lives of quiet desperation.
A debut motivation guide offers solutions for those trapped in a state of ennui.
On a Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Mercadante walked away from the “seven-figure PR/ad agency at peak revenue” that he had worked 13 years to build. Why? “It wasn’t worth the corresponding pain,” he writes in the introduction to his book about springing yourself from stasis and dissatisfaction. “I had built a prison instead of a business.” He decided to begin a new career as a life coach, helping people escape from the same self-created states of discontent that he fled. In the process, the author struck upon what he calls the Freedom Five (Superpowers, Vision, Alignment, Outcomes, and Flow): pillars of the satisfied and self-determined lifestyle that he wished others to experience. After identifying the symptoms of restriction that readers may be experiencing (often without even realizing it), Mercadante gets into the concepts behind the Freedom Five and the regimens they suggest for those trying to shake up their stagnant lives. He tailors his advice for would-be entrepreneurs—the easiest way to assert your independence is to become your own boss, after all—but the tips he provides are applicable to relationships, family dynamics, personal aspirations, and more. The author writes in the encouraging and confident prose that one might expect from a self-help guru: “There’s not work and life; there’s just life. How you spend the time in your life is entirely up to you. The key to freedom and fulfillment isn’t balance; it’s alignment: aligning the three facets in your life—work, family, and self.” He is adept at cutting through the thought processes that so often govern life decisions—processes that, he argues, are overly dominated by fear and anxiety. Mercadante borrows much of the familiar language of the self-help/motivational industry—abundance rears its head in chapter three—and there isn’t much here that hasn’t already been said in other books. But in a genre that often relies on repackaged ideas, presentation matters quite a bit, and the author’s slick exhibition of the material will likely win over readers in the business world.
A well-crafted, if not entirely original, work for those looking to spring themselves from lives of quiet desperation.Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5445-0382-0
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Lioncrest Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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