As refreshingly southern and satisfying as a cool glass of iced tea.
With all the charm of Robert Fulghum, screenwriter Johnson spins a few yarns, shares a few vignettes and offers a variety of commendable life lessons.
Johnson was raised in rural South Carolina, a place where the difference between Baptists and Methodists matters; where people call soda “Co-Cola,” never Coke (or, God forbid, Pepsi); where Conway, S.C. is considered a metropolitan area. As a child he was taught to appreciate the simple things in life, and he learned the importance of hard work and community–not to mention good food. Indeed, the story is redolent with fine Southern cuisine: country ham, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, pecan pie, banana pudding and more. Not just a paean to home cooking, Johnson has also crafted a loving ode to his parents–his dignified, selfless mother and his inquisitive, loving father–who raised him right. At the end of the day, he can barely remember the four-star restaurants he’s visited as an adult, but he has lasting memories of the simple meals he enjoyed with his family at the IHOP. Also enlightening is the author’s take-no-prisoners critique of contemporary communication technology–cell phones, caller ID, email. We may use these gizmos to facilitate relationships with our loved ones, he says, but in reality, we hide behind them. In fact, says Johnson, we now live in a throw-away culture where we casually discard whatever seems inconvenient, whether “Styrofoam or marriage.” Compared to the homey, comfortable world of Johnson’s childhood, today’s cell phone landscape seems bleak. He concludes the final chapter by acknowledging that we all just get through life “the best damn way [we] can.” Good advice for anyone, and Johnson’s musings offer soothing companionship along the way.
As refreshingly southern and satisfying as a cool glass of iced tea.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-58348-232-6
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
“One of the best ways to change,” announces Siegel, “is to act as if you are the person you want to become.” His newest book from the author of Love, Medicine, and Healing offers a series of brief, avuncular, often witty suggestions about how to alter one’s life and find happiness. While the prescriptions themselves offer little to quibble with (“Learn what you can and can’t control”), there’s also little enough of substance in his breezy narrative to provide detailed help for someone in real pain. Still, given the success of Siegel’s previous works, it’s likely that his audience, which made those books bestsellers, will turn once again to Siegel for another dose of effervescent good feelings—and for suggestions about what to do when, as he says, “the merry drops out of the merry-go-round.” (Author tour; television and radio satellite tour)
Pub Date: Oct. 16, 1998
ISBN: 0-06-019196-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1998
Enthusiastic, embracing guide to self-actualization.
A dairy farmer–turned–certified coach discusses how to realize your unique potential in this debut self-help guide.
Nyland, with her husband, owned and operated a dairy farm for more than 28 years, and they lived first in the Netherlands, now in Canada. She tees up her particular experience by noting that she has “lived with four generations on one farm” and that “Nothing fascinates me more than human interaction.” Now also a certified coach, having completed the “Co-Active” leadership program offered by California-based Coaches Training Institute, Nyland asserts that “we all are magnificent,” each with a special “toolbox/I am status,” yet “most of us don’t even know we have this great toolbox, let alone know that we need to cultivate it to experience a great life.” She believes that blockage occurs due to insecurities that arise from what she calls the five-point system “We have all been taught” via family, society, and media: “how to trust, how to handle conflict, how to be accountable, how to be committed, and what the results of these things are.” Nyland spends most of her book exploring these themes and offering several suggestions to help readers get a better picture of who they really are and what they really want in life. For instance, she says, journal and take her brief survey to assess your current views related to her five-point system. Nyland offers simple yet effective and thought-provoking tools to develop a cleareyed and affirmative approach to life. Her guide can get a bit off course, however, with too much discussion of autobiographical detail, including an odd aside about “stray voltage” causing problems on her farm. Still, Nyland generally presents a positive, uplifting tone in an encouraging guide. “You see, we all encounter difficult challenges in life, and yes, that sucks,” she says. “The thing is, though, with all those challenges we have the opportunity to cultivate and strengthen our toolbox, and how cool is that?”
Enthusiastic, embracing guide to self-actualization.Pub Date: April 17, 2015
ISBN: 978-1503552678
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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