A good investment for anyone wondering how to find meaningful, long-lasting love.
Kincross, a third-generation psychic, tackles the murky and often disappointing task of finding love in this self-help guide.
Divided into three sections, Kincross’ debut offers insight into the illusions that can trip up someone searching for a mate. It also recommends inner improvements everyone should make to prepare him or herself for love as well as strategies to find not only a relationship, but the right one. Kincross debunks many of the romantic myths perpetuated by Hollywood, specifically the 2001 movie Serendipity, a film that plays upon the desire for “signs” and cosmic indicators that two people are meant to be. Kincross calls into question the whole idea of two people being made for each other and destined to be together, citing this misconception as one of the main reasons why dating can be so difficult and disappointing. In general, Kincross objects to the overly romanticized concept of a soul mate, or at least the determined pursuit of finding one. Anyone can be a soul mate, Kincross argues, as she offers tips and guidance on making a relationship work with whomever one feels a connection. The onus, she says, is on the reader to make love happen. In addition to presenting a paradigm shift when it comes to finding love, Kincross compels her reader to delve inward and make strides in self-discovery by engaging in regular journal writing. Though material within sections can be scattered, she ends her chapters with provocative, well-targeted questions that will help readers focus and achieve an appropriate level of honesty to aid in determining what kind of spouse he or she truly needs. Written in a friendly, approachable and easy-to-read style, this guide is filled with spiritual thoughts as well as practical guidance from a narrator who comes across as a longtime friend and sage adviser.
A good investment for anyone wondering how to find meaningful, long-lasting love.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2013
ISBN: 978-1481226899
Page Count: 184
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The author’s sincere sermon—at times analytical, at times hortatory—remains a hopeful one.
New York Times columnist Brooks (The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement, 2011, etc.) returns with another volume that walks the thin line between self-help and cultural criticism.
Sandwiched between his introduction and conclusion are eight chapters that profile exemplars (Samuel Johnson and Michel de Montaigne are textual roommates) whose lives can, in Brooks’ view, show us the light. Given the author’s conservative bent in his column, readers may be surprised to discover that his cast includes some notable leftists, including Frances Perkins, Dorothy Day, and A. Philip Randolph. (Also included are Gens. Eisenhower and Marshall, Augustine, and George Eliot.) Throughout the book, Brooks’ pattern is fairly consistent: he sketches each individual’s life, highlighting struggles won and weaknesses overcome (or not), and extracts lessons for the rest of us. In general, he celebrates hard work, humility, self-effacement, and devotion to a true vocation. Early in his text, he adapts the “Adam I and Adam II” construction from the work of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, Adam I being the more external, career-driven human, Adam II the one who “wants to have a serene inner character.” At times, this veers near the Devil Bugs Bunny and Angel Bugs that sit on the cartoon character’s shoulders at critical moments. Brooks liberally seasons the narrative with many allusions to history, philosophy, and literature. Viktor Frankl, Edgar Allan Poe, Paul Tillich, William and Henry James, Matthew Arnold, Virginia Woolf—these are but a few who pop up. Although Brooks goes after the selfie generation, he does so in a fairly nuanced way, noting that it was really the World War II Greatest Generation who started the ball rolling. He is careful to emphasize that no one—even those he profiles—is anywhere near flawless.
The author’s sincere sermon—at times analytical, at times hortatory—remains a hopeful one.Pub Date: April 21, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8129-9325-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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