This inspirational self-help book for women offers a cheerful yellow brick road to a new life.
In his famous 1949 book The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell theorized that, in literature, all mythical heroes’ journeys have a similar structure. Organizational development consultant and executive coach Liller (Circle Power, 2010) details how women may start their own life-changing journeys in this accessible guide. Her inspiration for writing this book occurred while watching a speaker’s presentation that compared Campbell’s theory to Dorothy Gale’s journey in The Wizard of Oz. Liller sprinkles references to the wide-eyed girl from Kansas throughout the text as she urges readers to realize that, like Dorothy, they’ve been the heroines of their own stories all along. A heroine doesn’t have to leap over tall buildings in a single bound, writes Liller; instead, she can simply be a woman who dares to take risks and challenge herself even when it’s frightening to do so. This breezy manual begins by defining some terms; for instance, a person is in the “Belly of the Whale” when they find themselves in turmoil during a journey of self-discovery. As Liller urges women to begin their own quests, she provides basic rules of the road, such as “it’s OK not to know where you’re going next.” She also offers practical tools that are easy to use, such as a “Heroine’s Journey Map” for recording milestones. For readers who have no idea what they want to do in the future, there’s a hands-on exercise that involves free-writing ideas on sticky notes and grouping similar ideas together; the aim is to help women to see previously unknown patterns in their lives. Although the book is relatively short, Liller’s friendly voice is inviting, and her examples are often compelling. Comparing life to a journey is a cliché, and some of the exercises—such as affirmations—have been done many times before. But women who are searching for a first step to change will find some solid ground under their feet here.
An upbeat, if sometimes-familiar, manual for self-discovery.Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-945847-07-3
Page Count: 154
Publisher: Emerald Lake Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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