by Diana Hewson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2011
A touching testimonial to one man's life and an expression of the depth of love that bound two people together even beyond...
A personal account of one woman's experiences and revelations of an afterlife following her husband's sudden death.
Hewson's debut relates the series of events and experiences that led her to believe in life after death despite her initial skepticism. Ed, Hewson's husband of 34 years, died suddenly in May 2003. As she struggled with her grief and the responsibilities of maintaining a 14-acre farm as well as a high-pressure job, friends encouraged her to be aware of signs that Ed's spirit was still with her. Gradually, Hewson became conscious of a series of unexplainable events, such as the loud ticking of an old clock long thought to be broken, unusual beeps heard through the phone and other inexplicable happenings, which she interpreted as the spirit of Ed reminding her that he was still with her. Describing herself as an agnostic and nonbeliever, Hewson began to consult mediums and read a series of books describing near-death experiences. Combined with her own experiences, she concludes that there is life after death and that humans are all immortal in spirit. Although Hewson frequently refers to her background as a chemist and a scientist, this book does not attempt to present a scientific study. For those who are already familiar and comfortable with the idea of spirit, this book will affirm those beliefs and comfort those who are seeking to regain a connection with a lost loved one. For those who do not believe, the book provides little evidence to the contrary beyond Hewson’s anecdotes. What is most clearly represented is the author's love for her husband and her desire to maintain her connection to him. Through her descriptions, Ed comes to life as a likable and interesting man. Her memories of their life together do more to keep him alive than any of the quasi-supernatural events she presents as evidence.
A touching testimonial to one man's life and an expression of the depth of love that bound two people together even beyond death.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1452532042
Page Count: 148
Publisher: Balboa
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Cheryl Strayed ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2015
These platitudes need perspective; better to buy the books they came from.
A lightweight collection of self-help snippets from the bestselling author.
What makes a quote a quote? Does it have to be quoted by someone other than the original author? Apparently not, if we take Strayed’s collection of truisms as an example. The well-known memoirist (Wild), novelist (Torch), and radio-show host (“Dear Sugar”) pulls lines from her previous pages and delivers them one at a time in this small, gift-sized book. No excerpt exceeds one page in length, and some are only one line long. Strayed doesn’t reference the books she’s drawing from, so the quotes stand without context and are strung together without apparent attention to structure or narrative flow. Thus, we move back and forth from first-person tales from the Pacific Crest Trail to conversational tidbits to meditations on grief. Some are astoundingly simple, such as Strayed’s declaration that “Love is the feeling we have for those we care deeply about and hold in high regard.” Others call on the author’s unique observations—people who regret what they haven’t done, she writes, end up “mingy, addled, shrink-wrapped versions” of themselves—and offer a reward for wading through obvious advice like “Trust your gut.” Other quotes sound familiar—not necessarily because you’ve read Strayed’s other work, but likely due to the influence of other authors on her writing. When she writes about blooming into your own authenticity, for instance, one is immediately reminded of Anaïs Nin: "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Strayed’s true blossoming happens in her longer works; while this collection might brighten someone’s day—and is sure to sell plenty of copies during the holidays—it’s no substitute for the real thing.
These platitudes need perspective; better to buy the books they came from.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-101-946909
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
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by Glennon Doyle ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2020
Doyle offers another lucid, inspiring chronicle of female empowerment and the rewards of self-awareness and renewal.
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More life reflections from the bestselling author on themes of societal captivity and the catharsis of personal freedom.
In her third book, Doyle (Love Warrior, 2016, etc.) begins with a life-changing event. “Four years ago,” she writes, “married to the father of my three children, I fell in love with a woman.” That woman, Abby Wambach, would become her wife. Emblematically arranged into three sections—“Caged,” “Keys,” “Freedom”—the narrative offers, among other elements, vignettes about the soulful author’s girlhood, when she was bulimic and felt like a zoo animal, a “caged girl made for wide-open skies.” She followed the path that seemed right and appropriate based on her Catholic upbringing and adolescent conditioning. After a downward spiral into “drinking, drugging, and purging,” Doyle found sobriety and the authentic self she’d been suppressing. Still, there was trouble: Straining an already troubled marriage was her husband’s infidelity, which eventually led to life-altering choices and the discovery of a love she’d never experienced before. Throughout the book, Doyle remains open and candid, whether she’s admitting to rigging a high school homecoming court election or denouncing the doting perfectionism of “cream cheese parenting,” which is about “giving your children the best of everything.” The author’s fears and concerns are often mirrored by real-world issues: gender roles and bias, white privilege, racism, and religion-fueled homophobia and hypocrisy. Some stories merely skim the surface of larger issues, but Doyle revisits them in later sections and digs deeper, using friends and familial references to personify their impact on her life, both past and present. Shorter pieces, some only a page in length, manage to effectively translate an emotional gut punch, as when Doyle’s therapist called her blooming extramarital lesbian love a “dangerous distraction.” Ultimately, the narrative is an in-depth look at a courageous woman eager to share the wealth of her experiences by embracing vulnerability and reclaiming her inner strength and resiliency.
Doyle offers another lucid, inspiring chronicle of female empowerment and the rewards of self-awareness and renewal.Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0125-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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