by William A. Schiemann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2016
A tangible, motivational life-planning approach with useful examples.
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An organizational psychologist provides tools and insights to achieving professional and personal happiness in this debut self-development guide.
Schiemann (co-author: The Rise of HR, 2015, etc.), the founder and principal of Metrus Group, says that his management consulting firm’s work over 25 years has “led us to the concept of fulfillment as a critical quality” that people may achieve with “a plan that brings out the best in themselves.” In this book, “intended not for my academic colleagues but for practical application by readers like you,” Schiemann discusses “ACE,” which he sees as the guiding acronym for achieving fulfillment: one thinks about one’s “Alignment” by creating life goals, pursues the “Capabilities” that one needs to achieve them, and makes choices that bring about continuous “Engagement.” He then provides an array of flowcharts and tracking tools by which people may pinpoint and make progress on said life goals, including mapping out steppingstones, or “lighthouse goals,” to reach larger objectives (such as doing well on the LSATs in order to get into law school and then become a lawyer). Schiemann also shares his own personal story about struggling to focus and sketches out the life maps of both fictional and real people. The latter includes a woman who responded with passion and power to her pancreatic cancer diagnosis; she served as Schiemann’s key inspiration in developing this book. In this guide, the author effectively widens the lens of HR–type planning tools to serve a larger context. His advice to take time to specifically map out one’s goals, with specific targets and measures, is indeed practical, applicable advice, and it stands in contrast to the fuzzy positivity found in many happiness-oriented tomes. Although some readers may balk at having to fill out the several trackers provided here, it’s clear that such homework may be beneficial to anyone seeking to assess his or her work/life balance. Schiemann’s use of life stories, including his own, also enlivens what could have been a dry, prescriptive text.
A tangible, motivational life-planning approach with useful examples.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-944962-22-7
Page Count: 242
Publisher: Secant Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Glennon Doyle ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2020
Doyle offers another lucid, inspiring chronicle of female empowerment and the rewards of self-awareness and renewal.
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New York Times Bestseller
IndieBound Bestseller
More life reflections from the bestselling author on themes of societal captivity and the catharsis of personal freedom.
In her third book, Doyle (Love Warrior, 2016, etc.) begins with a life-changing event. “Four years ago,” she writes, “married to the father of my three children, I fell in love with a woman.” That woman, Abby Wambach, would become her wife. Emblematically arranged into three sections—“Caged,” “Keys,” “Freedom”—the narrative offers, among other elements, vignettes about the soulful author’s girlhood, when she was bulimic and felt like a zoo animal, a “caged girl made for wide-open skies.” She followed the path that seemed right and appropriate based on her Catholic upbringing and adolescent conditioning. After a downward spiral into “drinking, drugging, and purging,” Doyle found sobriety and the authentic self she’d been suppressing. Still, there was trouble: Straining an already troubled marriage was her husband’s infidelity, which eventually led to life-altering choices and the discovery of a love she’d never experienced before. Throughout the book, Doyle remains open and candid, whether she’s admitting to rigging a high school homecoming court election or denouncing the doting perfectionism of “cream cheese parenting,” which is about “giving your children the best of everything.” The author’s fears and concerns are often mirrored by real-world issues: gender roles and bias, white privilege, racism, and religion-fueled homophobia and hypocrisy. Some stories merely skim the surface of larger issues, but Doyle revisits them in later sections and digs deeper, using friends and familial references to personify their impact on her life, both past and present. Shorter pieces, some only a page in length, manage to effectively translate an emotional gut punch, as when Doyle’s therapist called her blooming extramarital lesbian love a “dangerous distraction.” Ultimately, the narrative is an in-depth look at a courageous woman eager to share the wealth of her experiences by embracing vulnerability and reclaiming her inner strength and resiliency.
Doyle offers another lucid, inspiring chronicle of female empowerment and the rewards of self-awareness and renewal.Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0125-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
by Matt Haig ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 2016
A vibrant, encouraging depiction of a sinister disorder.
A British novelist turns to autobiography to report the manifold symptoms and management of his debilitating disease, depression.
Clever author Haig (The Humans, 2013, etc.) writes brief, episodic vignettes, not of a tranquil life but of an existence of unbearable, unsustainable melancholy. Throughout his story, presented in bits frequently less than a page long (e.g., “Things you think during your 1,000th panic attack”), the author considers phases he describes in turn as Falling, Landing, Rising, Living, and, finally, simply Being with spells of depression. Haig lists markers of his unseen disease, including adolescent angst, pain, continual dread, inability to speak, hypochondria, and insomnia. He describes his frequent panic attacks and near-constant anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure. Haig also assesses the efficacy of neuroscience, yoga, St. John’s wort, exercise, pharmaceuticals, silence, talking, walking, running, staying put, and working up the courage to do even the most seemingly mundane of tasks, like visiting the village store. Best for the author were reading, writing, and the frequent dispensing of kindnesses and love. He acknowledges particularly his debt to his then-girlfriend, now-wife. After nearly 15 years, Haig is doing better. He appreciates being alive and savors the miracle of existence. His writing is infectious though sometimes facile—and grammarians may be upset with the writer’s occasional confusion of the nominative and objective cases of personal pronouns. Less tidy and more eclectic than William Styron’s equally brief, iconic Darkness Visible, Haig’s book provides unobjectionable advice that will offer some help and succor to those who experience depression and other related illnesses. For families and friends of the afflicted, Haig’s book, like Styron’s, will provide understanding and support.
A vibrant, encouraging depiction of a sinister disorder.Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-312872-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Penguin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015
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