A useful complement to professional counseling.
An energetic self-help debut for stoking the fires of romance for the long haul.
When Sumber was a young man, his mentor left him in the desert with instructions to “move a mountain.” Sumber stared at the mountains in the distance and realized his biggest obstacles in life were inside his own mind. He’s now a psychotherapist and relationship consultant, and his easy-to-peruse book reveals seven tools (e.g., “separating facts from feelings”) for moving metaphorical personal mountains and improving damaged relationships. In an action-oriented approach, chapters end with hands-on exercises, such as writing about personal life obstacles or reading to one another as a couple. (The book’s appendix includes a link for downloading a free companion exercise workbook.) With a friendly voice, Sumber addresses readers in first-person, sprinkling the narrative with quotes from erudite thinkers such as Carl Jung. The way to begin improving relationships, Sumber says, is through personal transformation. His thoughtful process isn’t a step-by-step quick fix; instead, he encourages changing paradigms and old ways of thinking. For example, Sumber writes that setting a mobile phone’s pop-up calendar with reminders to “share something personal” with a partner may seem forced and unromantic, but the results are more important than the prompt. Occasionally, the text feels a bit wordy, as with a description of his ideas: “These seven simple tools allow you to re-contextualize the drama of the negative exchange with your partner into a basic equation that exists in an alternate reality from the one you are so accustomed to being kicked around by; a relational dimension where feelings replace more transactional, cognitive ones and zeroes.” For the most part, though, Sumber’s style is accessible, and his ideas are practical, like his counsel to those who are just beginning to explore the process: “Take a vacation from figuring it all out. Focus on being present in the moment with yourself, your partner, and your new process.” Following the advice can also help readers ascertain whether or not a partnership can be saved. If not, Sumber’s reflective ideas may turn a painful breakup into a positive learning experience.
A useful complement to professional counseling.Pub Date: April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9963111-0-6
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Rain Drops Press
Review Posted Online: July 8, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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