In an uneven but spirited follow-up to his 2007 self-help guide Do You!, the co-creator of Def Jam Records and a cavalcade...
The “godfather of Hip-Hop” shares the secrets to cultivating a bountiful, carefree life.
In an uneven but spirited follow-up to his 2007 self-help guide Do You!, the co-creator of Def Jam Records and a cavalcade of lucrative multimedia ventures extols the virtues of living a “super rich” life unencumbered by “toys” and their “clutter.” Sure, extraneous physical objects are to be enjoyed, he writes, but never to become attached to; becoming spiritually “enlightened” will make those possessions immaterial. Simmons ascribes spirituality to personal wealth rather than monetary affluence and believes that true happiness is “actually a state of needing nothing” except “being conscious and connected to God.” Recounting his own rocky road to success, the author notes that in order to be successful, the heart must be present in every endeavor, and talents should be given away for free in order to attract attention. Significantly influenced by yoga, Simmons lets the Buddhist quotations, mantras and parables flow freely. The author encourages significant time commitments to meditation and nurturing “stillness,” while denouncing neediness and “uninspiring actions” like smoking cigarettes and meat consumption. Collaborating with journalist Morrow, Simmons employs many examples from his career and personal struggles to create a platform based on sensible guidance and responsible, timeless ethics. Still, despite the universal messages, and his insistence that he is not attempting to convert anyone, the author’s endeavor to “write a book where yoga, philanthropy, and God played a major role” may alienate those of different affiliations. The author’s at his most convincing when delivering jaunty, positive messages about achieving personal fulfillment through patience and hard work—e.g., “you should take great comfort in the knowledge that each sunrise presents another day to do things right.”Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-592-40587-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Gotham Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2010
Doyle offers another lucid, inspiring chronicle of female empowerment and the rewards of self-awareness and renewal.
More life reflections from the bestselling author on themes of societal captivity and the catharsis of personal freedom.
In her third book, Doyle (Love Warrior, 2016, etc.) begins with a life-changing event. “Four years ago,” she writes, “married to the father of my three children, I fell in love with a woman.” That woman, Abby Wambach, would become her wife. Emblematically arranged into three sections—“Caged,” “Keys,” “Freedom”—the narrative offers, among other elements, vignettes about the soulful author’s girlhood, when she was bulimic and felt like a zoo animal, a “caged girl made for wide-open skies.” She followed the path that seemed right and appropriate based on her Catholic upbringing and adolescent conditioning. After a downward spiral into “drinking, drugging, and purging,” Doyle found sobriety and the authentic self she’d been suppressing. Still, there was trouble: Straining an already troubled marriage was her husband’s infidelity, which eventually led to life-altering choices and the discovery of a love she’d never experienced before. Throughout the book, Doyle remains open and candid, whether she’s admitting to rigging a high school homecoming court election or denouncing the doting perfectionism of “cream cheese parenting,” which is about “giving your children the best of everything.” The author’s fears and concerns are often mirrored by real-world issues: gender roles and bias, white privilege, racism, and religion-fueled homophobia and hypocrisy. Some stories merely skim the surface of larger issues, but Doyle revisits them in later sections and digs deeper, using friends and familial references to personify their impact on her life, both past and present. Shorter pieces, some only a page in length, manage to effectively translate an emotional gut punch, as when Doyle’s therapist called her blooming extramarital lesbian love a “dangerous distraction.” Ultimately, the narrative is an in-depth look at a courageous woman eager to share the wealth of her experiences by embracing vulnerability and reclaiming her inner strength and resiliency.
Doyle offers another lucid, inspiring chronicle of female empowerment and the rewards of self-awareness and renewal.Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0125-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
PROFILES
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A vibrant, encouraging depiction of a sinister disorder.
A British novelist turns to autobiography to report the manifold symptoms and management of his debilitating disease, depression.
Clever author Haig (The Humans, 2013, etc.) writes brief, episodic vignettes, not of a tranquil life but of an existence of unbearable, unsustainable melancholy. Throughout his story, presented in bits frequently less than a page long (e.g., “Things you think during your 1,000th panic attack”), the author considers phases he describes in turn as Falling, Landing, Rising, Living, and, finally, simply Being with spells of depression. Haig lists markers of his unseen disease, including adolescent angst, pain, continual dread, inability to speak, hypochondria, and insomnia. He describes his frequent panic attacks and near-constant anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure. Haig also assesses the efficacy of neuroscience, yoga, St. John’s wort, exercise, pharmaceuticals, silence, talking, walking, running, staying put, and working up the courage to do even the most seemingly mundane of tasks, like visiting the village store. Best for the author were reading, writing, and the frequent dispensing of kindnesses and love. He acknowledges particularly his debt to his then-girlfriend, now-wife. After nearly 15 years, Haig is doing better. He appreciates being alive and savors the miracle of existence. His writing is infectious though sometimes facile—and grammarians may be upset with the writer’s occasional confusion of the nominative and objective cases of personal pronouns. Less tidy and more eclectic than William Styron’s equally brief, iconic Darkness Visible, Haig’s book provides unobjectionable advice that will offer some help and succor to those who experience depression and other related illnesses. For families and friends of the afflicted, Haig’s book, like Styron’s, will provide understanding and support.
A vibrant, encouraging depiction of a sinister disorder.Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-312872-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Penguin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015
SEEN & HEARD
Readers Donate Depression Book After Star Suicide
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