A unique self-help book focused on the benefits of sensitivity.
Amber explains how her neurodivergence enables her to thrive.
In this self-help book, the author, a former business executive, describes her own experiences as a highly sensitive person (a recently defined condition in which, as she explains, “I see, taste, hear, smell, and feel many more stimuli than others, and I feel them more intensely”) and discusses how traits she has developed in response to this sensitivity, in addition to her studies in psychology and her professional experience, allow her to function more effectively in the world. Amber discusses how developing sensitivity skills can help others improve their experiences at work, in relationships, and in personal growth. She takes readers through an abbreviated version of her difficult childhood, marked by an often-unhappy home life (“The air of my real home was thick with tragedy, and life took place in dark violet hues, riddled with the pink scars of freshly healed newly obtained wounds”) that forced her to learn to adapt—it was a gradual process of discovering her interests and strengths, powered by a desire to share her insights with the wider world. The author outlines her educational path and her evolving professional life, highlighting the moments in which she made small decisions that would later turn out to be life-changing and life-defining. She encourages readers to pursue alternative methods of thinking, such as “mental time travel” (“You may also call it the process of remembering, which includes future episodes if you think of time as a cycle, not the arrow or line. Any mental trips generated, whether by AI virtual reality, imaginary, or life experiences, could be liberating, but it is a matter of emotional connection”) to better understand their own needs and desires, and to achieve their own moments of epiphany. Amber attributes much of her success in life to her heightened sensitivity and the related skills she developed. And she offers readers advice on strengthening their own perceptual abilities to improve their relationships with others and with the world at large.
The book offers a compelling perspective on the way a form of neurodivergence can ultimately drive effective adaptations rather than serve as a source of difficulty. The author concisely explains how her high sensitivity has been a net benefit: “It has given me the ability to foresee threats and the ability to be prepared, feeling opportunities and being ready to catch them.” The book is less effective at conveying background information—although it is clear that Amber grew up outside the United States, it is never stated where she spent her early years, making it difficult to contextualize the stories she tells about her childhood. Some readers may find the author’s approach to changing thought patterns a bit too esoteric for their tastes (“The one mastering sensitivity becomes a seeker of physical tensions, which embodies emotional attachments to situations”), though the language may feel familiar to self-help enthusiasts. Throughout the book, Amber makes clear her intention of helping readers with their problems, and that sense of generosity runs through the text, creating a welcoming environment.
A unique self-help book focused on the benefits of sensitivity.Pub Date: Nov. 21, 2023
ISBN: 9781788605021
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Practical Inspiration Publishing, UK
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorker staff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
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