A forcefully argued if perhaps fanciful alternative takeon hyperthyroid problems.
A psychotherapist proposes a non-pharmaceutical approach to thyroid problems.
In her nonfiction debut, Williams proposes using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to combat Graves’ disease (and other forms of hyperthyroidism), from which the author herself has suffered and for which she was initially prescribed a standard drug regimen that quickly wore on her. “I became dependent on medication,” she writes. “My behavior changed completely from living freely and independently to feeling trapped and dependent on prescription drugs.” As an alternative to this protocol, the author turned to prayer, altered her eating habits, and practiced CBT, which appeared to work. “I healed myself naturally,” she states, “and I believe you can, too.” In a series of short, concise chapters, Williams breaks down the details of and science behind hyperthyroidism and colorfully relates her own history with the condition. Each of the book’s chapters concludes with a “Reflections” section in which readers are encouraged to answer broad discussion questions like, “How do you feel about your current health?” The author’s tone is compassionate throughout as she reassures readers who have received a thyroid-related diagnosis that they aren’t alone in their worry and sense of isolation. This compassion is encouraging; less so is the author’s Christian-fundamentalist perspective, which often feels too close to tent-revival faith-healing. When she writes, for instance, “one of the greatest blessings anyone can receive is the Divine love and His purpose,” atheists and other non-Christian readers may wonder where they stand in this arrangement—and those suffering from the conditions covered here might feel less inclined to seek medical help, which, despite the author’s stance, they very likely need. This strand of science-denialism notwithstanding, the book’s emphasis on an upbeat attitude and improved healthy habits will doubtless help some readers.
A forcefully argued if perhaps fanciful alternative takeon hyperthyroid problems.Pub Date: July 6, 2023
ISBN: 9798988094913
Page Count: 114
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Nov. 27, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
IN THE NEWS
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.
All right, all right, all right: The affable, laconic actor delivers a combination of memoir and self-help book.
“This is an approach book,” writes McConaughey, adding that it contains “philosophies that can be objectively understood, and if you choose, subjectively adopted, by either changing your reality, or changing how you see it. This is a playbook, based on adventures in my life.” Some of those philosophies come in the form of apothegms: “When you can design your own weather, blow in the breeze”; “Simplify, focus, conserve to liberate.” Others come in the form of sometimes rambling stories that never take the shortest route from point A to point B, as when he recounts a dream-spurred, challenging visit to the Malian musician Ali Farka Touré, who offered a significant lesson in how disagreement can be expressed politely and without rancor. Fans of McConaughey will enjoy his memories—which line up squarely with other accounts in Melissa Maerz’s recent oral history, Alright, Alright, Alright—of his debut in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, to which he contributed not just that signature phrase, but also a kind of too-cool-for-school hipness that dissolves a bit upon realizing that he’s an older guy on the prowl for teenage girls. McConaughey’s prep to settle into the role of Wooderson involved inhabiting the mind of a dude who digs cars, rock ’n’ roll, and “chicks,” and he ran with it, reminding readers that the film originally had only three scripted scenes for his character. The lesson: “Do one thing well, then another. Once, then once more.” It’s clear that the author is a thoughtful man, even an intellectual of sorts, though without the earnestness of Ethan Hawke or James Franco. Though some of the sentiments are greeting card–ish, this book is entertaining and full of good lessons.
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-13913-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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