A story steeped in passion for tea lovers, dreamers and seekers of a meaningful life.
Muzyka’s journey from tea cart operator to owner of a multimillion-dollar tea business.
As carefully crafted as the handpicked teas she describes, the author’s aptly named book offers wisdom with each cup, a “touchstone of tranquility, of warmth and nourishment.” Each chapter begins with a discussion of a tea blend related to her story, which begins when Muzyka’s son was born with a life-threatening kidney defect that required surgery. The single mother needed a way to earn money for the hospital bills. A lover of tea and student of aromatherapy and herbs, she looked to her Roma ancestors, medicine women who were healers and herbalists, for guidance. In an upscale consignment shop, she offered her concoctions—Gypsy Love rose tea, Vanilla Rose tea latte, Hazelnut Cinnamon black tea latte—on a cart she called the Gypsy Tearoom. Next came Zhena’s Gypsy Tea company, featuring her line of teas created with all the senses in mind: colorful and attractive to the eye, a perfect balance of fragrances, loose leaves to touch, flavors to “dance on the tongue” and a story to tell. Business, she learned, had its own complex layers to understand. She forged ahead with plans to use organic, fair-trade teas even with the inherent economic challenges, and she built a strong relationship with a tea plantation in Haputale, Sri Lanka, that shared her philosophy. Muzyka provides life lessons at the end of each chapter gleaned from what she learned along the way. Ultimately, this sensuous read captures the romance and pleasure of tea. Consider, for example, Coconut Chai, “a blend of sumptuously ripened coconut, thick and balmy Galle Valley black tea, sweet cinnamon, the bold heat of Burmese ginger, mellow nutmeg, prized imperial cardamom, piquant red peppercorns, and tongue tingling clove.” Who could resist?
A story steeped in passion for tea lovers, dreamers and seekers of a meaningful life.Pub Date: June 17, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4767-5960-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 6, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2014
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
SEEN & HEARD
Readers Donate Depression Book After Star Suicide
Honest, of course, but also surprisingly approachable and engaging.
W. has his say.
In a page-turner structured around important decisions in his life and presidency, Bush surprises with a lucid, heartfelt look back. Despite expected defenses of past decisions, Bush is candid and unafraid to say when he thinks he was wrong. Critics on both the left and right are challenged to walk in his shoes, and may come away with a new view of the former president—or at least an appreciation of the hard and often ambiguous choices he was forced to make. Aside from the opening chapter about his decision to quit drinking, the book is not chronologically ordered. Bush mixes topics as needed to tell a larger story than a simple history of his administration. Certain themes dominate the narrative: the all-encompassing importance of 9/11 to the bulk of his presidency, and how it shaped and shadowed almost everything he did; the importance of his faith, which is echoed in every chapter and which comes through in an unassuming manner; the often unseen advisor whom the president conferred with and confided in on almost every subject—his wife, Laura Bush; and the wide array of people who helped him rise to the White House and then often hindered him once he was there. The book is worthwhile for many reasons. Even if many readers may not agree with his views on the subjects, Bush’s memories of 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and other major events are riveting and of historical value on their own. Additionally, Bush provides insight into the daily life of the president. The author accepts blame for a number of mistakes and misjudgments, while also standing up for decisions he felt were right.
Honest, of course, but also surprisingly approachable and engaging.Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-307-59061-9
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
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