A thoughtful and engaging reflection on what it means to get older, both physically and spiritually.
Moran shares tips on aging well in a culture obsessed with youth.
The author, a longtime yogi and prolific self-help writer, here focuses her attention on the concept of aging. While acknowledging that genetics and lifestyle choices greatly influence how one ages, she also draws attention to the cultural and spiritual aspects of the process. Heavily influenced by Eastern practices, Moran alternates between concrete suggestions (for good skin care, wear sunscreen and eat herbs like Tulsi, amla, and ashwagandha) and more esoteric musings (“just think of your inner being as soul or spirit or whatever word you like. Terminology aside, that inner being is the real you, and it does not age. The more thoroughly you can identify with the part of yourself that has been you all your life, the more youthful you will feel and appear”). Occasional text boxes contain “Practices for the Path” with additional exercises for readers to try, like “Adapt an appropriate and appealing asana routine for yourself.” Moran includes plenty of personal anecdotes, such as her experience bungee jumping at age 43, as well as yogic parables, like the tale of the blind sea turtle. The author’s voice remains warm and conversational throughout, easing readers into sometimes rather complex concepts—the idea of the body’s three doshas (or energies), for example, with the dominating one being “solidified at the moment of conception as your body type.” In addition to all of the spiritual notions that Moran introduces, she also addresses some very practical issues, including the importance of a living will. It is the deftness with which Moran handles this delicate balance between the metaphysical and tangible that makes her guide such a pleasure to read. Her approach to aging may hover in the periphery of the mainstream, but there is valuable information here—whether or not one subscribes to all of the ideas.
A thoughtful and engaging reflection on what it means to get older, both physically and spiritually.Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781958972595
Page Count: 234
Publisher: Monkfish Book Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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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