A compelling and convincing argument positing that the path to healing begins within.
Mann presents a meticulously researched look at the connection between the mind and physical health.
It’s widely understood that stress takes a toll on our health. But what about anxieties that are decades removed, or fears we have never expressed, even to ourselves? Though the physical impact of these factors is rarely researched, the author, a physician, argues that overlooked and repressed stress plays a crucial role in our long-term health (“Repressed emotions…though unfelt, do persist within. And, ultimately, they can affect us medically more than the day-to-day emotions we do experience”). Drawing upon research and abundant case studies from his own patient population, Mann lays the groundwork for a mind-body connection that operates beyond conscious awareness and impacts our health in life-altering, and sometimes life-ending, ways. Mann chronicles the maladies of patients whose severe and unresponsive illness appear to have been triggered by past stressors; many enjoy dramatic recoveries when those feelings are addressed. A must-read for anyone interested in exploring the mind-body connection, Mann’s work has fascinating implications for medical practitioners and patients alike. Encouraging providers to engage with their patients’ pasts, Mann suggests that the origin of some unresponsive ailments may lie within the sympathetic nervous system. His research also calls for a more inclusive and relative understanding of trauma, recognizing that the impacts of emotional experiences can vary significantly among patients. The role of repression is also extensively explored, both as a necessary coping mechanism and as a barrier to accurate medical diagnosis. To this end, the author encourages medical professionals to be mindful of the fact that some patients may not consciously perceive a given event as traumatic, even as their bodies respond otherwise. Recognizing this distinction may open the door to the treatment of underlying causes, and empower physicians to save more lives every year.
A compelling and convincing argument positing that the path to healing begins within.Pub Date: April 13, 2022
ISBN: 979-8985202304
Page Count: 218
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.
All right, all right, all right: The affable, laconic actor delivers a combination of memoir and self-help book.
“This is an approach book,” writes McConaughey, adding that it contains “philosophies that can be objectively understood, and if you choose, subjectively adopted, by either changing your reality, or changing how you see it. This is a playbook, based on adventures in my life.” Some of those philosophies come in the form of apothegms: “When you can design your own weather, blow in the breeze”; “Simplify, focus, conserve to liberate.” Others come in the form of sometimes rambling stories that never take the shortest route from point A to point B, as when he recounts a dream-spurred, challenging visit to the Malian musician Ali Farka Touré, who offered a significant lesson in how disagreement can be expressed politely and without rancor. Fans of McConaughey will enjoy his memories—which line up squarely with other accounts in Melissa Maerz’s recent oral history, Alright, Alright, Alright—of his debut in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, to which he contributed not just that signature phrase, but also a kind of too-cool-for-school hipness that dissolves a bit upon realizing that he’s an older guy on the prowl for teenage girls. McConaughey’s prep to settle into the role of Wooderson involved inhabiting the mind of a dude who digs cars, rock ’n’ roll, and “chicks,” and he ran with it, reminding readers that the film originally had only three scripted scenes for his character. The lesson: “Do one thing well, then another. Once, then once more.” It’s clear that the author is a thoughtful man, even an intellectual of sorts, though without the earnestness of Ethan Hawke or James Franco. Though some of the sentiments are greeting card–ish, this book is entertaining and full of good lessons.
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-13913-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
© Copyright 2023 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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