by Sylvie Heyman ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 18, 2017
A well-researched, if scattered, guide to making positive changes.
A registered nurse, chiropractor, and acupuncturist explores why habits form and how to break them.
Debut author Heyman draws from her professional experiences to demystify how habits develop and offer strategies to squelch the harmful ones. “Forty to 45 percent of our daily actions are based on habits,” she states in her introduction. Given that so much of human behavior is routine, it’s no wonder habits are hard to break. “The brain is basically lazy,” Heyman explains. “If it has the opportunity to funnel behaviors to a place where they become automatic, requiring little conscious thinking, it will do so in a flash.” Habits begin with a cue that leads to a response followed by a reward. The brain remembers the reward and automates the cycle. Habits streamline life, but they can also result in patterns that jeopardize health. Resolve alone isn’t enough to overcome a bad habit: “Willpower is like a muscle. It loses strength, gets tired and is depleted after overuse.” To change, people must have motivation and readiness. Heyman lays out six different theories on how the former arises and six stages of the latter. She supplements these steps with stories of people who have successfully changed habits like interrupting, compulsive shopping, bingeing, and obsessive Facebook checking. Common threads among those who triumphed include making “s.m.a.r.t.” (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time framed) goals, rewarding oneself, keeping a journal to track victories, and stating objectives in a positive tone. The author delivers plenty of useful advice for sustaining good habits: she advocates a healthy diet, sufficient sleep, regular exercise, and meditation. She also touches briefly on spiritual habits, such as prayers and mantras. Heyman emphasizes the importance of awareness, action, and accountability: “The real problem is not ignorance; it’s non-compliance,” she insists. While the author’s tone is affable, providing clear explanations and rendering her key points in boldface or with bullets, this book is less of a step-by-step manual and more of a theoretical buffet. If one has difficulty effecting change, this volume’s plethora of approaches might overwhelm and prevent the kind of commitment required for habit-breaking.
A well-researched, if scattered, guide to making positive changes.Pub Date: March 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4787-7830-1
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Share your opinion of this book
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
Share your opinion of this book
More by E.T.A. Hoffmann
BOOK REVIEW
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson
BOOK REVIEW
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis
by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
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
Share your opinion of this book
More by Ludwig Bemelmans
BOOK REVIEW
developed by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
BOOK REVIEW
by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.