A thoughtful treatise on living mindfully that combines Everyman wisdom with a healthy dose of irreverence.
Berkun blends personal experience, spiritual principles, and self-help advice in these “rules” for the nonconformist in all of us.
The author, an experienced public speaker, opens with a memory from his time in the ICU to illustrate the first rule, “Don’t Die,” which advocates for finding humor amid life’s absurdities as a way of surviving. The next rule, “Wake Up,” is about letting go of delusions: “You finally say: here I am, this is what I am truly like, and here is what is really happening,” Berkun writes. “You Are Not Your Thoughts” makes the provocative point that thoughts are simply information, not identity markers. In contrast, the “Feelings Are Friends” rule states that emotions are messengers that need to be heard. In urging readers to “Observe Yourself,” Berkun advises accepting “whatever shows up in your mind.” “Knowing Is Not Doing” is a reminder that knowledge does not compensate for experiential wisdom. Questioning why things are the way they are—and who decided they should be so—is vital, according to “Everything Is Made Up.” Berkun explains that because life rarely makes sense, we should all “live it up” and “indulge now and then in nonsense.” “Do It Anyway” encourages taking action despite resistance, while “Show Up” emphasizes that “you decide your own level of involvement in life.”
Berkun shares helpful perspectives on accepting life on its own absurdist terms, and his conversational voice makes for an easy, accessible read. The book’s tone shows understanding and supportiveness throughout (“It’s no wonder emotions overwhelm us, because that’s what they are designed to do”), and the author also uses subtle humor to liven things up: “Our thoughts are at best a mixed bag of mostly stale nuts and we should not take them so seriously.” Berkun chooses his metaphors carefully, such as likening feelings to “unruly kids,” while intrusive, anxiety-causing thoughts are an “annoying uncle.” The book draws from a variety of intellectual sources, from Seneca and Kafka to the Bible and Buddhism, and the author has a keen grasp of it all. Berkun also delves into his painful experiences—including a paralyzed vocal cord that led to a “mental breakdown”—to illustrate how he came to these hard-won insights, writing, “I had to start over with my emotions as if I were a child, and with the help of a trauma therapist and close friends and family, I slowly learned to function again.” The “Ask Questions” section includes thought-provoking prompts such as “What can you be curious about?” and “What do you need to accept?” Berkun’s strategies for living in the present are simple yet effective, such as meditating, pausing before eating, moving the body, and being in nature. A minor quibble is that the book can sometimes feel more like a lecture than a framework applicable to real-life scenarios. Avid self-help readers may also recognize some material (Mary Oliver quotes, the parable of the Chinese farmer, the “chop wood, carry water” teaching) from similar texts.
A thoughtful treatise on living mindfully that combines Everyman wisdom with a healthy dose of irreverence.Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2026
ISBN: 9798990979314
Page Count: 120
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2026
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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