Intriguing columns best read in small doses.
A collection of columns Levithan—a contributor to The Huffington Post and the Good Men Project Magazine—wrote about approaching and reaching the age of 60.
At first glance readers might wonder what is so singular about this milestone, but Levithan’s story is extraordinary. In 1984 he tested positive for HIV, grew increasingly ill and sat parked at death’s door before he won a lifesaving medical lottery a decade later: He was chosen to participate in a trial for an antiretroviral cocktail to fight HIV. Levithan is not short on gratitude for being alive and beating the long odds; he talks about his work as a volunteer counselor for many experiencing health crises or struggling with gay issues. He discusses society’s internalized prejudices—homophobia, ageism, anti-Semitism—and dreams of a time when differences will be celebrated. His most compelling stories are those he tells about others—quirky relatives or talented, true friends. Sadly, these anecdotes are too few and the predominant thrust of the book lies with the author. Many passages read like excerpts from a schoolboy’s diary: He recounts successful and disappointing dates (readers may wince at his lack of discretion when describing them) and how he frequently gets hit on by men in their early 20s. Missing from the frank discussions of sex—despite his life-threatening, life-changing experience with AIDS—is any mention of condoms or the importance of safe sex. Thematically, these columns center on celebrating and coming to terms with turning 60. Even so, the repetition can be wearying when read in toto. The author admits being told he could be “more discrete in content and tone” and states “I have been accused of bragging, of flaunting my sexuality and physical attributes—my privileges.” The collection could have been stronger if the author had heeded this advice.
Intriguing columns best read in small doses.Pub Date: March 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-1468009897
Page Count: 148
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Honest messages from one of America's best known women.
A compilation of advice from the Queen of All Media.
After writing a column for 14 years titled “What I Know For Sure” for O, The Oprah Winfrey Magazine, Winfrey brings together the highlights into one gift-ready collection. Grouped into themes like Joy, Resilience, Connection, Gratitude, Possibility, Awe, Clarity and Power, each short essay is the distilled thought of a woman who has taken the time to contemplate her life’s journey thus far. Whether she is discussing traveling across the country with her good friend, Gayle, the life she shares with her dogs or building a fire in the fireplace, Winfrey takes each moment and finds the good in it, takes pride in having lived it and embraces the message she’s received from that particular time. Through her actions and her words, she shows readers how she's turned potentially negative moments into life-enhancing experiences, how she's found bliss in simple pleasures like a perfectly ripe peach, and how she's overcome social anxiety to become part of a bigger community. She discusses the yo-yo dieting, exercise and calorie counting she endured for almost two decades as she tried to modify her physical body into something it was not meant to be, and how one day she decided she needed to be grateful for each and every body part: "This is the body you've been given—love what you've got." Since all of the sections are brief and many of the essays are only a couple paragraphs long—and many members of the target audience will have already read them in the magazine—they are best digested in short segments in order to absorb Winfrey's positive and joyful but repetitive message. The book also features a new introduction by the author.
Honest messages from one of America's best known women.Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1250054050
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Flatiron View Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An eye-opening glimpse into the attempted self-unmaking of one of Hollywood’s most recognizable talents.
The debut memoir from the pop and fashion star.
Early on, Simpson describes the book she didn’t write: “a motivational manual telling you how to live your best life.” Though having committed to the lucrative deal years before, she “walked away,” fearing any sort of self-help advice she might give would be hypocritical. Outwardly, Simpson was at the peak of her success, with her fashion line generating “one billion dollars in annual sales.” However, anxiety was getting the better of her, and she admits she’d become a “feelings addict,” just needing “enough noise to distract me from the pain I’d been avoiding since childhood. The demons of traumatic abuse that refused to let me sleep at night—Tylenol PM at age twelve, red wine and Ambien as a grown, scared woman. Those same demons who perched on my shoulder, and when they saw a man as dark as them, leaned in to my ear to whisper, ‘Just give him your light. See if it saves him…’ ” On Halloween 2017, Simpson hit rock bottom, and, with the intervention of her devoted friends and husband, began to address her addictions and underlying fears. In this readable but overlong narrative, the author traces her childhood as a Baptist preacher’s daughter moving 18 times before she “hit fifth grade,” and follows her remarkable rise to fame as a singer. She reveals the psychological trauma resulting from years of sexual abuse by a family friend, experiences that drew her repeatedly into bad relationships with men, most publicly with ex-husband Nick Lachey. Admitting that she was attracted to the validating power of an audience, Simpson analyzes how her failings and triumphs have enabled her to take control of her life, even as she was hounded by the press and various music and movie executives about her weight. Simpson’s memoir contains plenty of personal and professional moments for fans to savor. One of Kirkus and Rolling Stone’s Best Music Books of 2020.
An eye-opening glimpse into the attempted self-unmaking of one of Hollywood’s most recognizable talents.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-289996-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
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