A sincere consideration of grace, supplemented with helpful prompts for those searching for grace in their own lives.
Manuel explores the concept of grace and how it manifests in people’s lives in this nonfiction work.
The author here notes many moments of grace in her life, starting with the way her mother accepted Manuel back into her home after she ran away from her baby’s father and took lodging in a vacant apartment. She sees grace in being lent a book by her mother that prompted a journey of financial independence. She recounts a time her mother negotiated a lease for a new restaurant without having to put any money down with the landlord—another instance of grace, according to Manuel. The author identifies an internal grace that dissuaded her from taking the medication her doctor prescribed her to assist with the pain she was experiencing caused by professional stress. She believes this decision indirectly resulted in the transfer of her boss, whose actions bordered on sexual harassment (per Manuel) and who had been a primary source of the stress. Manuel goes on to describe grace in other contexts, and the book concludes with the lesson that finding grace in your life starts with shifting your perspective. The chapters are structured to contain anecdotes highlighting the presence of grace in Manuel’s life paired with writing prompts that readers can use to reflect on the subject for themselves. Overall, the author succeeds in providing inspiring examples of overcoming adversity (Manuel became the first Black woman on the board of a large nonprofit organization) and tying some element of those stories to grace. However, at times the author attempts to convince readers that she is somehow tackling the concept of grace in a novel way. For example, in one chapter, Manuel coins the term “matterizations,” defining them as lists “of what matters to you”; this may confuse readers who will wonder how these are distinct from priorities. But even if the book is made up of largely anecdotal illustrations of a concept that’s already been heavily explored, it is nonetheless inspiring.
A sincere consideration of grace, supplemented with helpful prompts for those searching for grace in their own lives.Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2024
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Sept. 4, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
IN THE NEWS
PERSPECTIVES
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
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