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
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
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
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