A heartfelt and encouraging guide for readers looking to recover their true selves.
Compton encourages readers to seek joy in this nonfiction work that is part guide, part autobiography.
In July 2021, the author found herself celebrating the attainment of a goal she had always wanted to reach: becoming a published author. Yet, instead of pride, Compton felt completely numb and was overcome by “the most terrifying realization I’ve ever had”: Nothing external would ever satisfy her. What follows is the author’s attempt to piece together why she struggles to find fulfillment and how to truly feel self-love. In five sections of the book, Compton charts this process, interspersing her own story and anecdotes with letters to the reader, whom she addresses as “Seeker.” The author, who runs her own mental health practice, is refreshingly honest about her own reluctance to attend therapy and how finally succumbing helped her to understand herself better. The reader follows Compton through two divorces and the blossoming of a new relationship with her partner Kelsey. Particularly endearing passages see the author sifting through memories, like her father teaching the 9-year-old Compton to drive, or describing times spent with her grandparents, who were strong figures in her childhood. The book shines brightest in Compton’s relatable voice and belief in the reader she envisions herself speaking to. Compared to other similar books, the author does not ask too much of her fellow seekers, dedicating only a few chapters to actively asking the reader to self-reflect. In some ways, this makes the self-love work the author advocates feel more approachable and attainable: Compton positions herself as a friend, and her counsel feels authentic and helpful, a soft approach to what can be challenging mental work for many people in similar situations.
A heartfelt and encouraging guide for readers looking to recover their true selves.Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781637744444
Page Count: 272
Publisher: BenBella
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An uplifting ode to the power of taking small steps to make big changes.
Manbeck offers direction for life’s journeys in his children’s book debut.
Using just one or two pithy sentences per page, the text encourages readers to bravely forge their own paths in the world. Whatever one hopes to accomplish or whatever one’s destination in life, the starting point is “here,” a point of view that suggests that there is power and wisdom in embracing the present moment. Manbeck assures readers that “you can go anywhere!” and includes all-caps imperatives on almost every double-page spread: “Begin”; “Take your time”; “Keep going”; “Be patient”; etc. A major thrust of the narrative is the futility of comparing oneself to others since every person is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all formula for how life should unfold. The whimsical illustrations, rendered in gouache and mixed media with digital editing, show sprightly children and their childlike anthropomorphic animal companions romping on giant fantastical play structures that recall Rube Goldberg machines. Some spreads feature a montage of the characters adventurously exploring a range of fun activities: butterfly watching, rollerblading, riding a penny-farthing, etc. Flowers and butterflies—with their associated meanings of transformation, hope, courage, success, and new beginnings—are used liberally as motifs throughout the colorful artwork. The characters have various skin tones, and one of them uses a wheelchair. Many wear party hats, conveying a mood of celebration; indeed, this book would make a good baby-shower or graduation gift.
An uplifting ode to the power of taking small steps to make big changes. (Gift book. 0-5, adult)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-79721-010-0
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A facile New Age story in which the author and his wife are initiated into the cult of angels by a band of women bikers in the Mojave Desert. Coelho (The Alchemist, 1993) tells how, at the bidding of his "Master," a wealthy businessman, he and his wife, Chris, go off into the desert for 40 days to look for his guardian angel. They find their enlightenment first from Gene, a young man who lives in a trailer, and finally from eight women, known as the Valkyries, who roam the desert on motorcycles and whose wild leader, Valhalla, becomes the couple's mystagogue. Coelho's basic message is that Paradise is open and angels are present if only we break the pact of our self-betrayal and learn to conquer fear and the distractions of our "second mind." Unfortunately, he fails to go anywhere with this potentially exciting but hardly original vision. What he offers is a kind of doctrinal salad in which belief in angels, channeling, and casual sex are mixed with references to Magic rites, Catholic worship, and reincarnation. Coelho uses his characters to emphasize the dubious position that spiritual knowledge can be gained without any connection to how one lives. At times his wisdom turns out to be the familiar exhortation to follow our dreams, and he asserts, without clarification, that we are all manifestations of the Absolute. Coelho's ignorance and superficiality are most blatant when he tells us that St. Mary of Egypt was canonized for her promiscuity and is remembered by almost no one today, whereas in fact, she was converted during her famous visit to Jerusalem, spent the rest of her life as a penitent, and is solemnly commemorated every year by the Orthodox Church all over the world. More pap for the spiritually challenged.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-06-251291-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1995
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