An exploration of the author’s spiritually transformative experiences and the worldview he’s developed from them.
Part memoir, part roundup of metaphysical and New Age philosophies, Anthes’ debut begins with an important spiritual moment he had as a teenager in Canada at the Bay of Fundy that began a lifelong interest in connecting with what he calls the Divine Universal Energy. He recounts the various experiences he’s had with Kundalini, premonitions, sensitivities to energies and following his instincts. He surrounds these experiences with the thoughts and views of numerous thinkers regarding the relationships among the spiritual and corporeal, the nature of the soul, and how New Age philosophies relate to Western religions, especially Christianity, in which he was raised. He also provides guidance and insight into how to interact with spiritual energy and live a more spiritual life—e.g., looking for God in daily things, being generous, forgiving and focusing on the spiritual in order to heal physical ailments. His look into the effects and challenges of spiritually transformative experiences could prove helpful for readers struggling to make sense of and adjust to their own experiences; the wisdom he draws from his life could certainly help readers in similar situations feel less alone. He often finds deep spiritual meaning in seemingly mundane facets of daily life, which, while interesting, can feel a bit overblown. Anthes’ personal story jumps around in time, with the author presenting various aspects of his life without much context, which may make his journey difficult to appreciate, since readers will struggle to get a sense of his spiritual progression. Numerous references to other authors and an in-depth bibliography make this book a useful jumping-off point for readers looking to get a broad sense of the New Age landscape.
Far-reaching and generous if somewhat scattered, but Anthes is a kindred spirit for readers on a similar journey.
Pub Date: May 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-1460239209
Page Count: 176
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
Did you like this book?
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
Did you like this book?
Possibly inspired by the letters Cleary has received as a children's author, this begins with second-grader Leigh Botts' misspelled fan letter to Mr. Henshaw, whose fictitious book itself derives from the old take-off title Forty Ways W. Amuse a Dog. Soon Leigh is in sixth grade and bombarding his still-favorite author with a list of questions to be answered and returned by "next Friday," the day his author report is due. Leigh is disgruntled when Mr. Henshaw's answer comes late, and accompanied by a set of questions for Leigh to answer. He threatens not to, but as "Mom keeps nagging me about your dumb old questions" he finally gets the job done—and through his answers Mr. Henshaw and readers learn that Leigh considers himself "the mediumest boy in school," that his parents have split up, and that he dreams of his truck-driver dad driving him to school "hauling a forty-foot reefer, which would make his outfit add up to eighteen wheels altogether. . . . I guess I wouldn't seem so medium then." Soon Mr. Henshaw recommends keeping a diary (at least partly to get Leigh off his own back) and so the real letters to Mr. Henshaw taper off, with "pretend," unmailed letters (the diary) taking over. . . until Leigh can write "I don't have to pretend to write to Mr. Henshaw anymore. I have learned to say what I think on a piece of paper." Meanwhile Mr. Henshaw offers writing tips, and Leigh, struggling with a story for a school contest, concludes "I think you're right. Maybe I am not ready to write a story." Instead he writes a "true story" about a truck haul with his father in Leigh's real past, and this wins praise from "a real live author" Leigh meets through the school program. Mr. Henshaw has also advised that "a character in a story should solve a problem or change in some way," a standard juvenile-fiction dictum which Cleary herself applies modestly by having Leigh solve his disappearing lunch problem with a burglar-alarmed lunch box—and, more seriously, come to recognize and accept that his father can't be counted on. All of this, in Leigh's simple words, is capably and unobtrusively structured as well as valid and realistic. From the writing tips to the divorced-kid blues, however, it tends to substitute prevailing wisdom for the little jolts of recognition that made the Ramona books so rewarding.
Pub Date: Aug. 22, 1983
ISBN: 143511096X
Page Count: 133
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 16, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1983
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
Did you like this book?
© Copyright 2021 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
