Often amusing and insightful tips that will help couples lighten up as they navigate through life together.
A psychologist offers husbands-to-be tips on handling marriage in this humorous relationship guide.
Powers’ guide is designed to “give (prospective grooms) the benefit of years of wisdom that other men have had to learn the hard way.” For example: “No—those jeans do not make her look fat. Ever, ever, ever.” That is tip No. 6 from a 10-point “wallet card” cheat sheet provided at the end of the book. The guide is organized into chapters focused on before, during, and after the “Big Day” of the wedding. Areas covered include the proposal (don’t balk at buying a diamond ring, consider yourself married from this point on); wedding planning (learn the phrase “I have no taste,” useful here and going forward); the wedding (schmooze, don’t booze); the honeymoon (a “fun part” yet not without pitfalls); and post-marriage life (“If you don’t at least pitch in, you’ll end up eventually doing it all by yourself—in your cool, post-divorce, cheapo bachelor pad”). Powers also discusses how couples should be aware of each other’s financial styles and provides examples showcasing the differences between what “she says,” “he hears,” and “she actually means.” While one could argue some of his tips are corny, Powers prudently contextualizes this wisecracking guide by noting that “hopefully you two had some fun and a few laughs together reading this book. If not, you’re [sic] marriage may already be doomed because a sense of humor is one of those essential ingredients of a happy marriage.” His quips, while at times merely flip, are often instructive as well as laugh-out-loud funny. These include his many bons mots harping on handling in-laws, who get pride of place as tip No. 10 on the wallet card: “Your in-laws probably don’t like you. Get over it—quietly.”
Often amusing and insightful tips that will help couples lighten up as they navigate through life together.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2022
ISBN: 9798986744919
Page Count: 100
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.
A noted actor turns to verse: “Poems are a Saturday in the middle of the week.”
McConaughey, author of the gracefully written memoir Greenlights, has been writing poems since his teens, closing with one “written in an Australian bathtub” that reads just as a poem by an 18-year-old (Rimbaud excepted) should read: “Ignorant minds of the fortunate man / Blind of the fate shaping every land.” McConaughey is fearless in his commitment to the rhyme, no matter how slight the result (“Oops, took a quick peek at the sky before I got my glasses, / now I can’t see shit, sure hope this passes”). And, sad to say, the slight is what is most on display throughout, punctuated by some odd koanlike aperçus: “Eating all we can / at the all-we-can-eat buffet, / gives us a 3.8 education / and a 4.2 GPA.” “Never give up your right to do the next right thing. This is how we find our way home.” “Memory never forgets. Even though we do.” The prayer portion of the program is deeply felt, but it’s just as sentimental; only when he writes of life-changing events—a court appearance to file a restraining order against a stalker, his decision to quit smoking weed—do we catch a glimpse of the effortlessly fluent, effortlessly charming McConaughey as exemplified by the David Wooderson (“alright, alright, alright”) of Dazed and Confused. The rest is mostly a soufflé in verse. McConaughey’s heart is very clearly in the right place, but on the whole the book suggests an old saw: Don’t give up your day job.
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781984862105
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.
The former iCarly star reflects on her difficult childhood.
In her debut memoir, titled after her 2020 one-woman show, singer and actor McCurdy (b. 1992) reveals the raw details of what she describes as years of emotional abuse at the hands of her demanding, emotionally unstable stage mom, Debra. Born in Los Angeles, the author, along with three older brothers, grew up in a home controlled by her mother. When McCurdy was 3, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though she initially survived, the disease’s recurrence would ultimately take her life when the author was 21. McCurdy candidly reconstructs those in-between years, showing how “my mom emotionally, mentally, and physically abused me in ways that will forever impact me.” Insistent on molding her only daughter into “Mommy’s little actress,” Debra shuffled her to auditions beginning at age 6. As she matured and starting booking acting gigs, McCurdy remained “desperate to impress Mom,” while Debra became increasingly obsessive about her daughter’s physical appearance. She tinted her daughter’s eyelashes, whitened her teeth, enforced a tightly monitored regimen of “calorie restriction,” and performed regular genital exams on her as a teenager. Eventually, the author grew understandably resentful and tried to distance herself from her mother. As a young celebrity, however, McCurdy became vulnerable to eating disorders, alcohol addiction, self-loathing, and unstable relationships. Throughout the book, she honestly portrays Debra’s cruel perfectionist personality and abusive behavior patterns, showing a woman who could get enraged by everything from crooked eyeliner to spilled milk. At the same time, McCurdy exhibits compassion for her deeply flawed mother. Late in the book, she shares a crushing secret her father revealed to her as an adult. While McCurdy didn’t emerge from her childhood unscathed, she’s managed to spin her harrowing experience into a sold-out stage act and achieve a form of catharsis that puts her mind, body, and acting career at peace.
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-982185-82-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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