An approachable, well-researched primer on essential minerals.
A health and wellness expert discusses the role of minerals in holistic well-being in this guidebook.
Per Stephenson-Laws, millions of people live in “the gap between ‘normal’ and ‘optimal’” and find themselves frustrated by health care professionals who can’t explain their vague array of symptoms, including achiness, fatigue, and frequent anxiety. While medical testing results may come back “fine,” the author suggests that mineral deficiencies—which can go undetected on standard blood panels—may lie at the root of undiagnosed chronic symptoms. At the heart of this work, which emphasizes the importance of optimizing essential mineral intake, are three “core truths”: Physical symptoms, no matter how seemingly minor, should not be ignored; mineral deficiencies can often be fixed by changes in diet (or, when necessary, by supplements); and taking even small steps toward regulation is better than not acting. The volume’s 18 chapters are divided into four parts, beginning with a thorough discussion of the “Foundation” of minerals. These chapters include a primer on essential minerals (most of which can be ingested via the consumption of specific vegetables, legumes, and seafood) along with personalized assessments and rubrics for doctor visits to aid readers beginning their journey of mineral regulation. Part two explores the role of minerals in bodily functions, with a particular emphasis on minerals’ effects on the nervous and digestive systems. Part three provides chapter-length overviews of the connections between minerals and a host of common symptoms ranging from sleeping- and energy-related problems to hair, nail, and skin issues (hair loss, for instance, is often linked to iron and zinc deficiencies). The final section, titled “Making It Work,” offers pragmatic tips for incorporating knowledge of minerals into one’s daily routine, such as advice on taking supplements and troubleshooting side effects.
As a practical workbook, the text provides ample ancillary materials across its appendices, including a glossary, reference guides that summarize essential minerals and recap the mineral profiles of nutritionally dense foods, and an overview of the specific prescription medicines that may lead to mineral deficiencies. A health care attorney, wellness coach, and founder of the nonprofit Proactive Health Labs, Stephenson-Laws draws on her upbringing in Jamaica, where she learned at an early age about the intimate connection between food and well-being. A well-researched work supported by nearly 100 endnotes, the book is grounded in contemporary science. The author has written multiple works on medical self-empowerment and mineral health; she conveys her expertise via an accessible writing style that’s geared toward readers with little to no medical knowledge. While Stephenson-Laws consistently emphasizes, in no uncertain terms, the central role that minerals play in holistic well-being, she is nonjudgmental, encouraging readers to take baby steps in their personal journeys while noting the positive impact that even small, consistent routines can have. The book’s accessibility to readers of all backgrounds is reflected in the wealth of color-coded charts and tables and specific guides (or reading “modes”) tailored to those at different stages of their health care journeys, ranging from “I’m barely functioning” to “I’m functional and ready to go deeper.”
An approachable, well-researched primer on essential minerals.Pub Date: March 4, 2026
ISBN: 9798993974064
Page Count: 316
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 22, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.
The late actor offers a gentle guide for living with more purpose, love, and joy.
Mixing poetry, prescriptive challenges, and elements of memoir, Heche (1969-2022) delivers a narrative that is more encouraging workbook than life story. The author wants to share what she has discovered over the course of a life filled with abuse, advocacy, and uncanny turning points. Her greatest discovery? Love. “Open yourself up to love and transform kindness from a feeling you extend to those around you to actions that you perform for them,” she writes. “Only by caring can we open ourselves up to the universe, and only by opening up to the universe can we fully experience all the wonders that it holds, the greatest of which is love.” Throughout the occasionally overwrought text, Heche is heavy on the concept of care. She wants us to experience joy as she does, and she provides a road map for how to get there. Instead of slinking away from Hollywood and the ridicule that she endured there, Heche found the good and hung on, with Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford starring as particularly shining knights in her story. Some readers may dismiss this material as vapid Hollywood stuff, but Heche’s perspective is an empathetic blend of Buddhism (minimize suffering), dialectical behavioral therapy (tolerating distress), Christianity (do unto others), and pre-Socratic philosophy (sufficient reason). “You’re not out to change the whole world, but to increase the levels of love and kindness in the world, drop by drop,” she writes. “Over time, these actions wear away the coldness, hate, and indifference around us as surely as water slowly wearing away stone.” Readers grieving her loss will take solace knowing that she lived her love-filled life on her own terms. Heche’s business and podcast partner, Heather Duffy, writes the epilogue, closing the book on a life well lived.
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781627783316
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Viva Editions
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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