edited by Leigh Leibel , Anne Pitman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 12, 2022
A well-researched and detailed resource for those interested in supplementing traditional cancer care with yoga techniques.
A comprehensive guide to yoga therapy for both cancer patients and their caregivers.
Integrative oncology specialist Leibel and School of Embodied Yoga Therapy director Pitman explore the use of yoga across the spectrum of cancer care in this guide. They divide their book into multiple sections, touching on the therapeutic role of yoga in clinical practices; the science behind cancer and its treatment; the biological intersection of yoga and cancer; and the “cancer care continuum.” They support their assertions with extensive references to scientific research. Helpful information abounds, from the practicalities of using yoga as therapy (addressing where sessions may best be held, and so on) to details about different forms of traditional cancer treatment patients might be experiencing. The meat of the book lies in the sixth chapter in which 38 contributing authors share their stories about how yoga therapy “can support mind, body, and spirit at every phase of the cancer care continuum.” Intermittent illustrations support the text, such as showing what a “tree pose” looks like for those who need assistance with yoga practice near the end of their lives. The work also discusses more advanced forms of yoga, such as Prānic Energization Technique. Anonymized personal anecdotes, such as story of a client expecting her first grandchild, add a human touch to often difficult subject matter in which clients learn through yogic techniques how to cope with their fear of death. However, it should be noted that the book can dense and dry at times, as when it frequently relies on yoga terminology: “From a yogic point of view, we see the remarkable intercommunication (through the kośa-s) demonstrated in the ‘stress response’; emotions (manomaya) can affect the body (annamaya), and the body can influence the mind.” However, this is counterbalanced by a great deal of helpful and relevant information. The authors clearly have a strong grasp of their subject matter and, by the end of the work, many readers will, too.
A well-researched and detailed resource for those interested in supplementing traditional cancer care with yoga techniques.Pub Date: Dec. 12, 2022
ISBN: 9781912085910
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Handspring Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Action Bronson ; photographed by Bonnie Stephens ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2021
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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by Anne Heche ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 24, 2023
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.
The late actor offers a gentle guide for living with more purpose, love, and joy.
Mixing poetry, prescriptive challenges, and elements of memoir, Heche (1969-2022) delivers a narrative that is more encouraging workbook than life story. The author wants to share what she has discovered over the course of a life filled with abuse, advocacy, and uncanny turning points. Her greatest discovery? Love. “Open yourself up to love and transform kindness from a feeling you extend to those around you to actions that you perform for them,” she writes. “Only by caring can we open ourselves up to the universe, and only by opening up to the universe can we fully experience all the wonders that it holds, the greatest of which is love.” Throughout the occasionally overwrought text, Heche is heavy on the concept of care. She wants us to experience joy as she does, and she provides a road map for how to get there. Instead of slinking away from Hollywood and the ridicule that she endured there, Heche found the good and hung on, with Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford starring as particularly shining knights in her story. Some readers may dismiss this material as vapid Hollywood stuff, but Heche’s perspective is an empathetic blend of Buddhism (minimize suffering), dialectical behavioral therapy (tolerating distress), Christianity (do unto others), and pre-Socratic philosophy (sufficient reason). “You’re not out to change the whole world, but to increase the levels of love and kindness in the world, drop by drop,” she writes. “Over time, these actions wear away the coldness, hate, and indifference around us as surely as water slowly wearing away stone.” Readers grieving her loss will take solace knowing that she lived her love-filled life on her own terms. Heche’s business and podcast partner, Heather Duffy, writes the epilogue, closing the book on a life well lived.
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781627783316
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Viva Editions
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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