A detailed handbook for those looking to learn about and connect with spirituality.
This exhaustive guide aims to teach readers the essential pillars of spirituality.
Debut author Broach, a trained library science professional and realtor, began doing research on metaphysics during his studies at the University of Kentucky. Many religions throughout the world, he notes, hold the belief that there exists a “higher power,” whether it be God, Shiva, or another deity; Broach asserts that these higher powers are examples of spiritual energy and help people to recognize this same energy within themselves. The author writes that, because there’s so much suffering and turmoil in the world, it can be difficult for people to exist in a positive state of being; instead, many pursue the idea of heaven for the promise of future happiness. But Broach argues that, by drawing on spiritual energy, people can create a similarly harmonic state on Earth. His book seeks to answer questions on how to live a spiritual life, including what it means to be a spiritual being: “We, as spiritual people, are part of God,” the author says. It also addresses how spirituality and organized religion are related and how affirmations are connected to one’s spiritual nature; indeed, readers who come from mainstream religious backgrounds should expect to have their worldviews frequently challenged. Other topics include how to embrace a spiritual lifestyle and use familiar spiritual tools, such as meditation and manifesting. Overall, Broach succeeds in creating a comprehensive guide for those who may be new to these spiritual ideas and eager to explore them. Occasionally, the book’s layout feels a bit disjointed, but the author’s clear storytelling talent makes up for this. Some of the concepts that Broach addresses in this book, such as auras or soul mates, are complex and may require patience from readers who are unfamiliar with them, but he supplements his research with engaging personal anecdotes.
A detailed handbook for those looking to learn about and connect with spirituality.Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2022
ISBN: 9798885270779
Page Count: 268
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Co.
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.
A noted actor turns to verse: “Poems are a Saturday in the middle of the week.”
McConaughey, author of the gracefully written memoir Greenlights, has been writing poems since his teens, closing with one “written in an Australian bathtub” that reads just as a poem by an 18-year-old (Rimbaud excepted) should read: “Ignorant minds of the fortunate man / Blind of the fate shaping every land.” McConaughey is fearless in his commitment to the rhyme, no matter how slight the result (“Oops, took a quick peek at the sky before I got my glasses, / now I can’t see shit, sure hope this passes”). And, sad to say, the slight is what is most on display throughout, punctuated by some odd koanlike aperçus: “Eating all we can / at the all-we-can-eat buffet, / gives us a 3.8 education / and a 4.2 GPA.” “Never give up your right to do the next right thing. This is how we find our way home.” “Memory never forgets. Even though we do.” The prayer portion of the program is deeply felt, but it’s just as sentimental; only when he writes of life-changing events—a court appearance to file a restraining order against a stalker, his decision to quit smoking weed—do we catch a glimpse of the effortlessly fluent, effortlessly charming McConaughey as exemplified by the David Wooderson (“alright, alright, alright”) of Dazed and Confused. The rest is mostly a soufflé in verse. McConaughey’s heart is very clearly in the right place, but on the whole the book suggests an old saw: Don’t give up your day job.
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781984862105
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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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