An odd but ultimately endearing memoir.
Heller tells of receiving supernatural help from an unlikely, and famous, source in this debut Christian memoir.
On Christmas Day 2016, the author simply could not get into the holiday spirit. The single mother of two had launched a jewelry business that year, and the startup debt was weighing on her. Then she learned from her daughter that the singer George Michael had died. “George was known for helping anyone in need,” she reflected. “I kept thinking, I wish he could have helped me grow my business. I wish I had someone like him to discuss marketing with. I wish I could have gotten his opinion on my jewelry line.” That night, she prayed to God to make Michael one of “my angels.” A few months later, Heller suffered a possible heart attack; at the hospital, she thought that she heard Michael’s song “Careless Whisper” playing somewhere, although her daughter assured her that it was not. Then, despite some troubling potential diagnoses, it turned out there was nothing wrong with Heller’s heart. Over the subsequent months and years, the author writes, she experienced ghostly happenings—boots moving on their own, bowls of creamer refilling themselves, televisions flicking on mysteriously—along with more spectral George Michael songs that only she could hear. She wondered: Could it really be possible that the deceased singer’s spirit was watching over her and her children? The tone of Heller’s prose is chatty and light, but she knows how to get across spooky moments when required: “I…tried to figure out why in the world I had just had a dream about George Michael. There he was, singing ‘Careless Whisper.’ Wait—was I still dreaming? No, I was definitely awake.” Overall, it’s a strange premise for a memoir, and skeptical readers will find it a difficult one to believe despite Heller’s efforts. That said, the supernatural elements are secondary to her story of finding ways to overcome the small (and not-so-small) obstacles that she encountered in her everyday life. As a result, this relatable remembrance will likely leave readers with a warm, Christmas-y feeling.
An odd but ultimately endearing memoir.Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5462-7090-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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