A funeral director’s heartfelt, poignant, and vivid insights into what makes life worth living.
An unlikely source delivers a variety of life lessons.
In his nonfiction debut, Meyer draws on his 14 years as the owner of a funeral home in order to distill lessons about life he’s learned from people dealing with death. His experiences have sprawled all over the map: “I have seen horrific, absolutely horrific, things, smelled smells that are unimaginable, cried with friends and strangers, and witnessed unspeakable tragedy, heartache, and death all too often for one human being.” In fast-paced and involving chapters, the author mixes stories from his long experience of coping with grieving and personal vignettes to create a big picture view of the important things in life. He recounts winningly honest personal experiences, including, of course, the time he moved to Northern California and bought a funeral home. “In my eyes,” he reflects, “there is no greater time to grow and become strong than when you have no other option—the last resort.” He gives advice on 20 major turning points or elements in life, from loving your parents and falling in love to coping with heartache, encountering health setbacks, and enduring inevitable aging. He urges his readers to work hard to avoid boring rituals. “If your day becomes routine,” he writes simply, “your life will be shorter.” And he relates each of these turning points to a period in his own life or the experiences of his customers over the years at the funeral home. Many of these tales are touching and some are funny (for instance, the widow who wanted her professional clown husband to be buried in his clown suit). And all are followed by “Reminders,” key takeaway points like “Take risks”; “Without failure, how can you appreciate success?”; and “Your gut is the greatest barometer you will ever have.” Meyer’s approachable writing style guarantees that readers will be both moved and entertained.
A funeral director’s heartfelt, poignant, and vivid insights into what makes life worth living.Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-73334-431-9
Page Count: 234
Publisher: Meaning of Life Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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