A detailed, impassioned plea to rethink notions of eating.
A veteran dietitian makes the case for a more reasoned relationship with food.
Cotton notes her bitter experience of countless gym visits “so I could give myself permission to eat—a concept that’s familiar to many women.” In this book, she recommends an alternative that rejects the diet industry and media-driven images of bodily perfection in favor of “mindful eating”—a complete rethink of snap judgments about food, as well as the related issues they bring up, such as what level of exercise is the most appropriate. Although good nutrition practices are essential for one’s well-being, she asserts, “the root cause of some of these challenges resides deeper in the mind and must be addressed before a permanent shift can occur.” This is the heart of Cotton’s case over the course of this book, and she builds it slowly and methodically, driven by the repetition of one key idea: “No one knows or understands your body better than you.” It follows, then, that every aspect of mindful eating, and the practices that the author avidly recommends, such as yoga and meditation, must work toward that goal. It’s not a radical conclusion, but as Cotton effectively presents it by marshaling an impressive array of details, from the folly of treating the dreaded Body Mass Index as gospel or seeing activity as an ordeal (“our society often promotes the idea that both personal growth is all that matters and that comfort is laziness, which isn’t true”). Each chapter closes with a summary of key points, and a battery of self-motivating acronyms, such as “B.E.L.I.E.F.S.” (from “B: Beliefs influence and determine your actions” to “S: Satisfaction and peace ensue”), which come across as bite-sized pieces of advice. For many, this book will provide sufficient motivation for taking a deeper dive into making mindful meals.
A detailed, impassioned plea to rethink notions of eating.Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9798891387713
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Amplify
Review Posted Online: Dec. 9, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.
A noted actor turns to verse: “Poems are a Saturday in the middle of the week.”
McConaughey, author of the gracefully written memoir Greenlights, has been writing poems since his teens, closing with one “written in an Australian bathtub” that reads just as a poem by an 18-year-old (Rimbaud excepted) should read: “Ignorant minds of the fortunate man / Blind of the fate shaping every land.” McConaughey is fearless in his commitment to the rhyme, no matter how slight the result (“Oops, took a quick peek at the sky before I got my glasses, / now I can’t see shit, sure hope this passes”). And, sad to say, the slight is what is most on display throughout, punctuated by some odd koanlike aperçus: “Eating all we can / at the all-we-can-eat buffet, / gives us a 3.8 education / and a 4.2 GPA.” “Never give up your right to do the next right thing. This is how we find our way home.” “Memory never forgets. Even though we do.” The prayer portion of the program is deeply felt, but it’s just as sentimental; only when he writes of life-changing events—a court appearance to file a restraining order against a stalker, his decision to quit smoking weed—do we catch a glimpse of the effortlessly fluent, effortlessly charming McConaughey as exemplified by the David Wooderson (“alright, alright, alright”) of Dazed and Confused. The rest is mostly a soufflé in verse. McConaughey’s heart is very clearly in the right place, but on the whole the book suggests an old saw: Don’t give up your day job.
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781984862105
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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