An instructive celebration of close, meaningful friendships.
An upbeat manifesto on the importance of friendship and the fundamental principles that make it thrive.
Horn, a psychology researcher and professor, contends that satisfying friendships are the cornerstone of a happy, healthy life—and yet, contemporary society “faces a pressing loneliness crisis.” In her first book, she shows readers how to “navigate the complex and sometimes murky waters of adult friendships.” The first chapter gives an overview of what the author calls “dynamic friendship”; i.e., close, meaningful relationships that create an exchange of positive energy. In each chapter, Horn explores fundamental friendship tenets: Recognizing (the different types of friendships), Communicating, Accepting, Blending (combining different friend groups), Safeguarding (building trust and loyalty), Reciprocating, Recalibrating (changing or ending friendships), and Self-friending. Each tenet comprises several basic principles. For example, Reciprocating includes “exchange time generously,” “tune in and truly listen,” and “express your gratitude,” among others. The author briefly describes each principle and prompts the reader to envision it and reflect on it. The guide concludes with a final recap and several pages of notes. Horn’s inspirational tone empowers readers to “reverse the trend of declining adult friendships.” Her writing is warm, vivid, and heartfelt: “Friends are the family we choose for ourselves, becoming increasingly precious as we age. They are our pillars of support, our sources of joy, and our lifelines in times of need.” While acknowledging that “the intricacies of adult friendships can be challenging,” Horn’s advice focuses more on the why than the how. She encourages the reader to connect “with an open heart, free from jealously or resentment”—an admirable sentiment that’s unfortunately much easier said than done. And while the need for friendship is universal, and the book advocates cultivating diverse friends, its frame of reference seems exclusively upper-middle-class American, replete with scenarios like spontaneous road trips, winery tours, high-paying jobs, yoga, and brunch. Ultimately, though, its message—“Be your own best friend, and let the magic of true friendship unfold in your life”—is timeless.
An instructive celebration of close, meaningful friendships.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9798891380950
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Amplify Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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