A pious exercise in preaching to the choir.
The former vice president embarks on a Christian-focused look at family.
In this preachy little treatise, Pence, writing with his daughter, Bond, describes how “the fate of nations, including this one, ultimately comes down to the strength of the family.” This isn’t a book about politics, though there are a few wan mentions; nor is it about Pence’s time in office, although he does allow that some of his friends warned him that signing on as Trump’s running mate “would be the end of my career.” The only words about Jan. 6, 2021, come from Bond, who writes that when she commented that the invasion was “unforgivable,” she was quickly upbraided by her mother, who threw out a Bible verse about God alone having the power of forgiveness (never mind the gallows out on the lawn). God comes in for the lion’s share of the credit, to be sure, whether placing the idea that Pence should go into politics after his stint as a conservative radio host—here, the author praises another paragon of godly virtue, Rush Limbaugh—or affording the Pence family a good model for their daily devotions, of which, yes, going home for dinner is a central tenet. Apart from the usual obeisance, Pence spends much of the text discussing how bad things are in comparison with the good old days inside his head, which would seem to be the 1950s, a time when “Americans used to have more respect for our nation’s history, for the people who sacrificed to make this country the beacon of freedom that it is today…. As the saying goes, those who forget history are destined to repeat it. We can acknowledge the injustices of the past and still be grateful to the people who brought forth the nation.”
A pious exercise in preaching to the choir.Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2023
ISBN: 9781982190361
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 14, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.
The former iCarly star reflects on her difficult childhood.
In her debut memoir, titled after her 2020 one-woman show, singer and actor McCurdy (b. 1992) reveals the raw details of what she describes as years of emotional abuse at the hands of her demanding, emotionally unstable stage mom, Debra. Born in Los Angeles, the author, along with three older brothers, grew up in a home controlled by her mother. When McCurdy was 3, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though she initially survived, the disease’s recurrence would ultimately take her life when the author was 21. McCurdy candidly reconstructs those in-between years, showing how “my mom emotionally, mentally, and physically abused me in ways that will forever impact me.” Insistent on molding her only daughter into “Mommy’s little actress,” Debra shuffled her to auditions beginning at age 6. As she matured and starting booking acting gigs, McCurdy remained “desperate to impress Mom,” while Debra became increasingly obsessive about her daughter’s physical appearance. She tinted her daughter’s eyelashes, whitened her teeth, enforced a tightly monitored regimen of “calorie restriction,” and performed regular genital exams on her as a teenager. Eventually, the author grew understandably resentful and tried to distance herself from her mother. As a young celebrity, however, McCurdy became vulnerable to eating disorders, alcohol addiction, self-loathing, and unstable relationships. Throughout the book, she honestly portrays Debra’s cruel perfectionist personality and abusive behavior patterns, showing a woman who could get enraged by everything from crooked eyeliner to spilled milk. At the same time, McCurdy exhibits compassion for her deeply flawed mother. Late in the book, she shares a crushing secret her father revealed to her as an adult. While McCurdy didn’t emerge from her childhood unscathed, she’s managed to spin her harrowing experience into a sold-out stage act and achieve a form of catharsis that puts her mind, body, and acting career at peace.
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-982185-82-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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