An intimate remembrance that includes a wealth of ideas about self-acceptance.
A debut memoir of one man’s journey toward love and healing in the face of loss.
When professional business mentor and adviser Chaleff was 18, his mother died in an automobile accident caused by a drunk driver, and afterward, he lost his ability to find meaning in life. As the child of an unpredictable, volatile father, Chaleff always found comfort in the protective, unconditional emotional warmth of his mother. Her death moved him into a mindset of self-destruction—and ultimately, self-examination. In this book, he offers a winding account of falling into addictive and compulsive behaviors, depression, and other difficulties as he tried to resolve his feelings about the traumatic event. He eventually moved to Japan, where he studied religion, and he met a very wise teacher named Cees de Bruin. He later became a teacher and healer himself, and he went on to experience moments of redemption with his father and others, which he shares here. It’s rare that a book succeeds at relating such an intimate, personal story while also clearly discussing psychological topics, such as projection, self-destruction, addiction, self-acceptance, and vulnerability. The book’s later chapters, in particular, offer unique advice, ideas, and insights about searching for self-awareness. For example, he discusses the titular last letter that he wrote to his mother, which she read shortly before her death: “That experience drove home to me the fragility of life and the urgency to take meaningful action in the face of mortality.” What makes this title stand out from similar memoirs is its raw, unsentimental treatment of the author’s story. Chaleff recounts his grief and healing experience in a cleareyed, conversational manner that will likely encourage readers toward introspection.
An intimate remembrance that includes a wealth of ideas about self-acceptance.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-63393-707-9
Page Count: 245
Publisher: Koehler Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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