A nimble, thoughtful introduction to various philosophies regarding faith and God.
Shields offers a quick guide to various theological systems in this debut work.
No matter what tradition we were raised in, we all find ourselves asking the big questions at some point in life: Does God exist? Is there a grand design to the universe? Why are we here? What happens after we die? “Over millennia, spiritual leaders and philosophers have devoted their lives to developing worldviews that could help us achieve enlightened and happier lives,” writes the author in her introduction. “While religious worldviews are most frequently inculcated in childhood, other secular or spiritual viewpoints can be developed as we mature and question ‘the meaning of life.’” With this book, Shields offers a brief introduction to a number of divergent belief systems, exploring the ways in which they seek to address those big questions. She helps readers to familiarize themselves with the differences between literal and non-literal interpretations of the Christian God, the non-anthropomorphic God of pantheism, and the completely non-theological teachings of secular Buddhism. The author also details the peaceful abyss of existential mysticism and the eternal reason of stoicism. Along the way, Shields stops to explore deceptively complex concepts such as hope, love, wonder, and mystery. By the end, readers may discover that their beliefs aren’t quite as tidy and certain as they initially thought. The author’s precise, sometimes academic prose cuts right to the heart of her topics, as here, where she discusses faith: “Three components are fundamental to religious faith: (a) a psychological state, (b) a cognitive comprehension of the ‘truth,’ accepted without evidence, and (c) a practical commitment to one’s religion…Believers find support for their faith by placing emphasis on one of the components, without neglecting the others.” The chapters are short, and the pages fly by despite the heady material. Readers looking for a survey of various theologies—and who don’t mind some dense reading—could do much worse than Shields’ primer.
A nimble, thoughtful introduction to various philosophies regarding faith and God.Pub Date: June 14, 2023
ISBN: 9798394343605
Page Count: 188
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Some of Avant’s mantras are overstated, but her book is magnanimous, inspiring, and relentlessly optimistic.
Memories and life lessons inspired by the author’s mother, who was murdered in 2021.
“Neither my mother nor I knew that her last text to me would be the words ‘Think you’ll be happy,’ ” Avant writes, "but it is fitting that she left me with a mantra for resiliency.” The author, a filmmaker and former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, begins her first book on the night she learned her mother, Jacqueline Avant, had been fatally shot during a home invasion. “One of my first thoughts,” she writes, “was, ‘Oh God, please don’t let me hate this man. Give me the strength not to hate him.’ ” Daughter of Clarence Avant, known as the “Black Godfather” due to his work as a pioneering music executive, the author describes growing up “in a house that had a revolving door of famous people,” from Ella Fitzgerald to Muhammad Ali. “I don’t take for granted anything I have achieved in my life as a Black American woman,” writes Avant. “And I recognize my unique upbringing…..I was taught to honor our past and pay forward our fruits.” The book, which is occasionally repetitive, includes tributes to her mother from figures like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton, but the narrative core is the author’s direct, faith-based, unwaveringly positive messages to readers—e.g., “I don’t want to carry the sadness and anger I have toward the man who did this to my mother…so I’m worshiping God amid the worst storm imaginable”; "Success and feeling good are contagious. I’m all about positive contagious vibrations!” Avant frequently quotes Bible verses, and the bulk of the text reflects the spirit of her daily prayer “that everything is in divine order.” Imploring readers to practice proactive behavior, she writes, “We have to always find the blessing, to be the blessing.”
Some of Avant’s mantras are overstated, but her book is magnanimous, inspiring, and relentlessly optimistic.Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023
ISBN: 9780063304413
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HarperOne
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.
A charming bird journey with the bestselling author.
In his introduction to Tan’s “nature journal,” David Allen Sibley, the acclaimed ornithologist, nails the spirit of this book: a “collection of delightfully quirky, thoughtful, and personal observations of birds in sketches and words.” For years, Tan has looked out on her California backyard “paradise”—oaks, periwinkle vines, birch, Japanese maple, fuchsia shrubs—observing more than 60 species of birds, and she fashions her findings into delightful and approachable journal excerpts, accompanied by her gorgeous color sketches. As the entries—“a record of my life”—move along, the author becomes more adept at identifying and capturing them with words and pencils. Her first entry is September 16, 2017: Shortly after putting up hummingbird feeders, one of the tiny, delicate creatures landed on her hand and fed. “We have a relationship,” she writes. “I am in love.” By August 2018, her backyard “has become a menagerie of fledglings…all learning to fly.” Day by day, she has continued to learn more about the birds, their activities, and how she should relate to them; she also admits mistakes when they occur. In December 2018, she was excited to observe a Townsend’s Warbler—“Omigod! It’s looking at me. Displeased expression.” Battling pesky squirrels, Tan deployed Hot Pepper Suet to keep them away, and she deterred crows by hanging a fake one upside down. The author also declared war on outdoor cats when she learned they kill more than 1 billion birds per year. In May 2019, she notes that she spends $250 per month on beetle larvae. In June 2019, she confesses “spending more hours a day staring at birds than writing. How can I not?” Her last entry, on December 15, 2022, celebrates when an eating bird pauses, “looks and acknowledges I am there.”
An ebullient nature lover’s paean to birds.Pub Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 9780593536131
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
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