An illuminating, myth-free exploration of mental health from a unique perspective.
A sobering and eye-opening look at the psychedelic drug MDMA and how people’s quest for healing persists through the generations.
Science writer Nuwer, author of Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking, begins by noting how MDMA, aka ecstasy, started out as one of the most restricted Schedule I drugs. Now, it is on the way to being FDA approved for use in a therapeutic setting for individuals who struggle with a plethora of mental health problems. The author offers numerous memorable firsthand accounts of using MDMA in various settings such as raves, in therapy, recreationally, and in many other scenarios, exemplifying the various benefits and drawbacks of the drug in the quest for connection. Nuwer effectively brings us into a community of people who have dedicated their lives to the drug, fashioning a colorfully curated story of its therapeutic uses and how it fits into the larger narrative of health care reform. One of the overarching themes of the book is the need for effective regulation of MDMA and other drugs, which would ensure a safe outlet to those who choose to use them as part of a treatment program. Throughout the book, Nuwer presents studies that show the potential advantages of using MDMA in a therapeutic setting to help individuals, such as veterans, autistic adults with social anxiety, and those struggling from alcoholism, heal from their trauma and go into the world with fresh perspectives on how to manage their mental well-being. Although research on how MDMA interacts within the human brain is still early in development, it is paving the way for significant changes in how people heal from a host of mental issues. Even though MDMA has a tumultuous road ahead, the community that stands behind the drug continues to demonstrate its positive impact in many people’s lives. Pair this with Michael Pollan’s This Is Your Mind on Plants.
An illuminating, myth-free exploration of mental health from a unique perspective.Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9781635579574
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.
The late actor offers a gentle guide for living with more purpose, love, and joy.
Mixing poetry, prescriptive challenges, and elements of memoir, Heche (1969-2022) delivers a narrative that is more encouraging workbook than life story. The author wants to share what she has discovered over the course of a life filled with abuse, advocacy, and uncanny turning points. Her greatest discovery? Love. “Open yourself up to love and transform kindness from a feeling you extend to those around you to actions that you perform for them,” she writes. “Only by caring can we open ourselves up to the universe, and only by opening up to the universe can we fully experience all the wonders that it holds, the greatest of which is love.” Throughout the occasionally overwrought text, Heche is heavy on the concept of care. She wants us to experience joy as she does, and she provides a road map for how to get there. Instead of slinking away from Hollywood and the ridicule that she endured there, Heche found the good and hung on, with Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford starring as particularly shining knights in her story. Some readers may dismiss this material as vapid Hollywood stuff, but Heche’s perspective is an empathetic blend of Buddhism (minimize suffering), dialectical behavioral therapy (tolerating distress), Christianity (do unto others), and pre-Socratic philosophy (sufficient reason). “You’re not out to change the whole world, but to increase the levels of love and kindness in the world, drop by drop,” she writes. “Over time, these actions wear away the coldness, hate, and indifference around us as surely as water slowly wearing away stone.” Readers grieving her loss will take solace knowing that she lived her love-filled life on her own terms. Heche’s business and podcast partner, Heather Duffy, writes the epilogue, closing the book on a life well lived.
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781627783316
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Viva Editions
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
Some of Avant’s mantras are overstated, but her book is magnanimous, inspiring, and relentlessly optimistic.
Memories and life lessons inspired by the author’s mother, who was murdered in 2021.
“Neither my mother nor I knew that her last text to me would be the words ‘Think you’ll be happy,’ ” Avant writes, "but it is fitting that she left me with a mantra for resiliency.” The author, a filmmaker and former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, begins her first book on the night she learned her mother, Jacqueline Avant, had been fatally shot during a home invasion. “One of my first thoughts,” she writes, “was, ‘Oh God, please don’t let me hate this man. Give me the strength not to hate him.’ ” Daughter of Clarence Avant, known as the “Black Godfather” due to his work as a pioneering music executive, the author describes growing up “in a house that had a revolving door of famous people,” from Ella Fitzgerald to Muhammad Ali. “I don’t take for granted anything I have achieved in my life as a Black American woman,” writes Avant. “And I recognize my unique upbringing…..I was taught to honor our past and pay forward our fruits.” The book, which is occasionally repetitive, includes tributes to her mother from figures like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton, but the narrative core is the author’s direct, faith-based, unwaveringly positive messages to readers—e.g., “I don’t want to carry the sadness and anger I have toward the man who did this to my mother…so I’m worshiping God amid the worst storm imaginable”; "Success and feeling good are contagious. I’m all about positive contagious vibrations!” Avant frequently quotes Bible verses, and the bulk of the text reflects the spirit of her daily prayer “that everything is in divine order.” Imploring readers to practice proactive behavior, she writes, “We have to always find the blessing, to be the blessing.”
Some of Avant’s mantras are overstated, but her book is magnanimous, inspiring, and relentlessly optimistic.Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023
ISBN: 9780063304413
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HarperOne
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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