A heartfelt rhapsody to a hyperaware existence, full of beguiling effusions.
In this ardent exploration of being, Yu argues that if you want to reach enlightenment, all you need is love.
The author raises profound questions about “what it means to live and be alive” and locates answers in a deep cosmic principle: “[L]ove is the highest, and the only force, for nothing else is real and exists.” Once this idea is grasped, she contends, we can awaken to ecstatic (though not painless) lives of authenticity and fulfillment in which we “honor and appreciate everyone [we] meet” and attune ourselves to a “divine order” that is “beyond… comprehension.” To achieve this higher consciousness, Yu recommends that readers do “inner work” that increases their vibrational levels by cultivating attitudes of desire and openness to new things. She also champions accepting oneself and what is, living in the moment, relying on the “pendulum effect” that will swing our emotions back to equilibrium after outside influences rattle us, practicing meditation and prayer, and getting in some walking. Yu’s text blends Christian, Buddhist, and New Age motifs, often conveyed in a lofty, incantatory register—much of the book feels like an abstract but sonorous prose poem. (“And all that’s left is what simply is. / And that is, forever, the light. / You are of the light, my sweet. / You are of the brave, my love. / You are a symbol of peace. / You are the one. / You are love.”) Yu’s writing is at its most powerful when grounded in her lived experience, as when she describes a childhood allergy to sunlight that caused her skin to scale: “[A]ll the kids were getting on the bus…watching me laying back in the seat in pain, all whispering what was wrong with her, what’s up with her face, she looks like Godzilla.” Passages like this make the author’s invocations of mystical healing after trauma feel well-earned and convincing.
A heartfelt rhapsody to a hyperaware existence, full of beguiling effusions.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781649539298
Page Count: 235
Publisher: Absolute Author Publishing House
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
