An enthusiastic, often successful outline for forming habits conducive to mindfulness.
An engineer distills the life advice he has absorbed from noted spiritual thinkers.
Drawing heavily on the work of Eckhart Tolle and Wayne Dyer, Rossi condenses the lessons he learned in a time of personal and professional upheaval in this debut self-help book. Rossi’s one complaint about the books that helped him to learn mindfulness, develop acceptance, and change his thought processes is “the lack of a prescribed ‘practice’ or steps to follow to instill into our life the excellent teaching the books espoused.” The foundation of his approach involves developing “the imperative habit,” Rossi’s term for the seven concrete skills—acceptance, not fearing the outcome, happiness as a practice, being present, not judging, responding with compassion, and having faith—the book is intended to teach. Rossi lucidly explains the psychology of conditioning behavior and developing habits, and he encourages readers to apply those techniques—for instance, asking themselves what they hope to achieve when taking a challenging class instead of assuming that they will fail—in order to make the elements of the imperative habit part of everyday life. The subjective nature of these skills, however, means that some readers may find that this book, like other similar titles, ably shows the value of mindfulness without elucidating the concept in a replicable manner. The book has its moments of dissonance (for instance, Chapter 1 opens with an apocryphal anecdote about European contact with the Americas that is weighted with stereotypes). Minor errors, like the frequent misspelling of Tolle’s first name, also detract from the book’s authoritativeness. On the whole, though, the text is highly readable, and as it takes a somewhat more practical and less metaphysical approach to mindfulness than the books Rossi draws from, it’s likely to appeal to readers who understand mindfulness but would like examples of its use and will appreciate the clear enthusiasm and focus of Rossi’s authorial voice.
An enthusiastic, often successful outline for forming habits conducive to mindfulness.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64633-584-8
Page Count: 220
Publisher: Evolve Global Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 30, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
A far-reaching, mostly persuasive guide that seeks to change how people approach inner challenges.
Ion and Irimia’s self-help book presents seven principles that can alter readers’ lives.
Many people face internal roadblocks that keep them from succeeding. While therapy remains a common treatment option, it can take years to make progress. Fast Transformation Protocols, the method advocated in Ion and Irimia’s guide, is the opposite, only requiring a minor time commitment. The seed for FTP was Ion’s first company, a recruitment agency for corporations in Transylvania, Romania. On a trip with a colleague named Sara, Ion freed the woman from the perception of abandonment, making Sara understand that benefits exist in even the most negative situations. FTP primarily operates by asking many “weird questions” and utilizing seven universal laws: those of duality, reflection, transformation, synchronicity, eristic (i.e., argumentative) escalation, order, and fractals. The laws mingle concepts from science, philosophy, and psychology. Just a few of the numerous examples the authors discuss regarding the law of duality alone include the Babylonians’ concept of celestial cycles; the Chinese version, yin and yang; and, in biology, the balance of cell birth with cell death. Another inspiration is Carl Jung’s exploration of coincidences (the law of synchronicity) and archetypes (the law of fractals). Added to the mix is a helping of spirituality. The authors ask readers, when they’re contemplating life challenges, to consider sacred contracts, an idea that “before birth, your soul carefully chooses the exact context and circumstances it will incarnate into.” The ambitious guide is written in Ion’s voice; she’s a sensitive presence who seems to genuinely aspire to help others. She recalls that as a child, “I pulled my emotions inward and packed them tightly inside me, like delicate things wrapped in newspaper.” Yet this delicacy is balanced by a love of organization and rationality, reflected in this well-structured and mostly convincing book. Intriguing case studies demonstrate how the laws the authors discuss apply to real situations. But some readers will question the success rate. Using one of the seven universal laws is always shown as succeeding, although perhaps not immediately.
A far-reaching, mostly persuasive guide that seeks to change how people approach inner challenges.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2025
ISBN: 9798993098203
Page Count: 313
Publisher: Inspired Life Circle LLC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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