A resonant account of self-discovery and spiritual fulfillment.
West reflects on her spiritual and personal journey in this memoir.
The book’s opening scene takes readers into the kitchen of West’s childhood home in a Midwestern suburb as the family prepares to decorate their Christmas tree. Throughout this scene, the author reflects on the ways the holiday story exemplifies each family member’s role. Mom “was always there,” she writes, highlighting her mother’s stabilizing presence in maintaining daily routines and household chores. Alternately, “Dad was more fun but inconstant; you never knew if he would make you laugh or cry.” This opening anecdote, which uses a simple event to make profound psychological and spiritual observations, is typical of the book. The follow-up to her 2020 memoir of family healing, Rootlines, here West focuses on her lifelong quest for meaning. Raised in a devoutly Catholic home, she embraced her family’s religion (e.g., she recalls praying for her drunk father as a young girl). Moving to California in the 1960s, where she studied science at the University of California, Berkeley, the author joined the throngs of baby boomers who found purpose in practicing Eastern spirituality and experimenting with drugs. Still, there remained constant tension between her interest in mantra repetition and other Eastern practices and her academic pursuit of science. As she entered a career in the nascent Silicon Valley, however, she fell victim to her family’s generational struggle with alcohol, diminishing her energy for exploration.
In her raw, intimate work, West examines her own complex internal struggles. When she first attended Alcoholics Anonymous, for example, she recalls her initial recoil at the program’s emphasis on relying on God, telling herself, “I didn’t come here to learn that I’m powerless.” She sought a more empirical, scientific approach toward overcoming addiction. As the book progresses, West outlines her own eclectic brand of spirituality, one that emerged from the myriad experiences that have defined her life. Coming to terms with her own sexuality and accepting herself as a lesbian during the height of antiqueer sentiment in 1970s-era California is another of the book’s central themes. “I finally had to admit,” she writes after breaking away from a ménage à trois that involved a man, “I was as gay as springtime. The time had come to admit it.” She realized that coming out publicly was important both as an act of self-empowerment and a political act—to show that queer men and women existed everywhere. The memoir also serves as a self-help guide; West clearly hopes to reach out to readers who struggle with addiction or are on their own spiritual journeys. To this end, she includes an ample assortment of questions designed for individual reflection or small group discussion. The book is at times repetitive and could use tighter editing, though its occasionally meandering narrative parallels the author’s own spiritual journey. Whether writing about the death of her sister, coming to terms with her sexual orientation, or contemplating the dichotomy between science and religion, West blends sage insights with deeply personal and engaging storytelling.
A resonant account of self-discovery and spiritual fulfillment.Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781647428228
Page Count: 352
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
A far-reaching, mostly persuasive guide that seeks to change how people approach inner challenges.
Ion and Irimia’s self-help book presents seven principles that can alter readers’ lives.
Many people face internal roadblocks that keep them from succeeding. While therapy remains a common treatment option, it can take years to make progress. Fast Transformation Protocols, the method advocated in Ion and Irimia’s guide, is the opposite, only requiring a minor time commitment. The seed for FTP was Ion’s first company, a recruitment agency for corporations in Transylvania, Romania. On a trip with a colleague named Sara, Ion freed the woman from the perception of abandonment, making Sara understand that benefits exist in even the most negative situations. FTP primarily operates by asking many “weird questions” and utilizing seven universal laws: those of duality, reflection, transformation, synchronicity, eristic (i.e., argumentative) escalation, order, and fractals. The laws mingle concepts from science, philosophy, and psychology. Just a few of the numerous examples the authors discuss regarding the law of duality alone include the Babylonians’ concept of celestial cycles; the Chinese version, yin and yang; and, in biology, the balance of cell birth with cell death. Another inspiration is Carl Jung’s exploration of coincidences (the law of synchronicity) and archetypes (the law of fractals). Added to the mix is a helping of spirituality. The authors ask readers, when they’re contemplating life challenges, to consider sacred contracts, an idea that “before birth, your soul carefully chooses the exact context and circumstances it will incarnate into.” The ambitious guide is written in Ion’s voice; she’s a sensitive presence who seems to genuinely aspire to help others. She recalls that as a child, “I pulled my emotions inward and packed them tightly inside me, like delicate things wrapped in newspaper.” Yet this delicacy is balanced by a love of organization and rationality, reflected in this well-structured and mostly convincing book. Intriguing case studies demonstrate how the laws the authors discuss apply to real situations. But some readers will question the success rate. Using one of the seven universal laws is always shown as succeeding, although perhaps not immediately.
A far-reaching, mostly persuasive guide that seeks to change how people approach inner challenges.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2025
ISBN: 9798993098203
Page Count: 313
Publisher: Inspired Life Circle LLC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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