A searching exploration of recovery and its discontents, mixing sharp criticism with a compelling story of redemption.
Eade promotes Eastern philosophy as an alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous in this insightful self-help guide.
The author draws lessons about addiction and recovery from his own struggle with alcoholism, which almost cost him his liver. Much of the book is a critique of AA, which he attended for about five years. While acknowledging that it benefits millions of alcoholics, Eade faults the organization for being too doctrinaire, too hidebound, too rooted in 20th-century WASP patriarchy (which alienates many women, people of color, and non-Christians), and too fixated on a concept of alcoholic powerlessness that encourages a victim mentality. As an alternative, he extols a set of programs informed by Hinduism and Buddhism, including “Yoga and the Twelve Steps™” classes and the recovery groups Refuge Recovery and Recovery Dharma. In these communities, the author learned to let go of the fear and shame at the heart of his addiction, detach from his ego and listen to his inner self, lift the veil of worldly delusions, and pursue an oceanic oneness with all being. On a practical level, he learned to quell the anxiety and mental agitation that had fueled his substance abuse with deep-breathing exercises and a daily prayer cycle in which he thanked the Source and Mother Earth for reminding him to “ease pain and suffering,” “forgive Trump today,” and undertake other spiritually edifying tasks. Following this regimen, the author reports, he overthrew the “merciless tyrant” of addiction. Eade’s narrative combines a plangent memoir of dysfunction with an erudite disquisition on the psychology and philosophy of addiction. He deploys vivid, captivating metaphors, as when he likens addiction to a plunge into a Dantean underworld: “I looked up at the long upward climb back and gave in to despair. There was just no way that I could make my way back to the top of that steep, slimy slope.” At the same time, he offers rapturous encouragement (“You will find peace and serenity. I promise”) that many readers will take to heart.
A searching exploration of recovery and its discontents, mixing sharp criticism with a compelling story of redemption.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9781958211328
Page Count: 104
Publisher: HigherLife Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.
A noted actor turns to verse: “Poems are a Saturday in the middle of the week.”
McConaughey, author of the gracefully written memoir Greenlights, has been writing poems since his teens, closing with one “written in an Australian bathtub” that reads just as a poem by an 18-year-old (Rimbaud excepted) should read: “Ignorant minds of the fortunate man / Blind of the fate shaping every land.” McConaughey is fearless in his commitment to the rhyme, no matter how slight the result (“Oops, took a quick peek at the sky before I got my glasses, / now I can’t see shit, sure hope this passes”). And, sad to say, the slight is what is most on display throughout, punctuated by some odd koanlike aperçus: “Eating all we can / at the all-we-can-eat buffet, / gives us a 3.8 education / and a 4.2 GPA.” “Never give up your right to do the next right thing. This is how we find our way home.” “Memory never forgets. Even though we do.” The prayer portion of the program is deeply felt, but it’s just as sentimental; only when he writes of life-changing events—a court appearance to file a restraining order against a stalker, his decision to quit smoking weed—do we catch a glimpse of the effortlessly fluent, effortlessly charming McConaughey as exemplified by the David Wooderson (“alright, alright, alright”) of Dazed and Confused. The rest is mostly a soufflé in verse. McConaughey’s heart is very clearly in the right place, but on the whole the book suggests an old saw: Don’t give up your day job.
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781984862105
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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