An exceptional, encyclopedic, and hopeful vision of the future.
An accomplished scholar discusses societal transformation in this expansive study.
Visser’s pragmatic perspective on humanity’s challenges as expressed in this work is reason for optimism. An academic, poet, and author of 40 books, he brilliantly addresses the interrelationship of humans with nature, society, the economy, and organizations under the broad umbrella of regeneration. Drawing from his own research and others’, Visser identifies “six keys to thriving”—complexity, circularity, creativity, coherence, convergence, and continuity—deftly explaining each in the first chapter. “Six” is a recurrent theme; the author subsequently talks about the shift from “six forces of breakdown” to “six counterforces of breakthrough,” a concept that helps establish the foundation for a wide-ranging, erudite discussion of regeneration. A section on “Nature” delves into restoring ecosystems and developing a circular economy, the subjects of Visser’s Closing the Loop, a 2018 documentary. In the next two sections, the author writes elegantly about an inclusive, healthier economy along with the effects of technology and such crises as climate change on the world’s societies. Finally, Visser tackles how systems integration and forward-thinking leaders can play integral roles in regenerating businesses. The quality of the writing is superb throughout the work; the author clearly, thoroughly, and convincingly covers each topic. One distinctive feature of the book is the frequent use of sidebars highlighting a “Key Concept,” “Fresh Insight,” “Hot Trend,” “Case Spotlight,” “Breakthrough Solution,” or other intriguing tidbits of information. Such additions serve to enrich and illustrate the text with engaging, timely content. Another unusual aspect of the book is its poetry. To close each chapter, Visser appends a relevant poem he wrote. For example, “Giving Up” begins: “I’m giving up— / Not on life, but on those actions that threaten life / Not on living, but on those habits that distract from living / Not on loving, but on those fears that get in the way of loving.” These poems insert a warmly creative literary element into an otherwise scholarly text. Extensive notes and an exhaustive bibliography demonstrate the rigorous research conducted by the author.
An exceptional, encyclopedic, and hopeful vision of the future.Pub Date: March 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-63908-007-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Fast Company Press
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Some of Avant’s mantras are overstated, but her book is magnanimous, inspiring, and relentlessly optimistic.
Memories and life lessons inspired by the author’s mother, who was murdered in 2021.
“Neither my mother nor I knew that her last text to me would be the words ‘Think you’ll be happy,’ ” Avant writes, "but it is fitting that she left me with a mantra for resiliency.” The author, a filmmaker and former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, begins her first book on the night she learned her mother, Jacqueline Avant, had been fatally shot during a home invasion. “One of my first thoughts,” she writes, “was, ‘Oh God, please don’t let me hate this man. Give me the strength not to hate him.’ ” Daughter of Clarence Avant, known as the “Black Godfather” due to his work as a pioneering music executive, the author describes growing up “in a house that had a revolving door of famous people,” from Ella Fitzgerald to Muhammad Ali. “I don’t take for granted anything I have achieved in my life as a Black American woman,” writes Avant. “And I recognize my unique upbringing…..I was taught to honor our past and pay forward our fruits.” The book, which is occasionally repetitive, includes tributes to her mother from figures like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton, but the narrative core is the author’s direct, faith-based, unwaveringly positive messages to readers—e.g., “I don’t want to carry the sadness and anger I have toward the man who did this to my mother…so I’m worshiping God amid the worst storm imaginable”; "Success and feeling good are contagious. I’m all about positive contagious vibrations!” Avant frequently quotes Bible verses, and the bulk of the text reflects the spirit of her daily prayer “that everything is in divine order.” Imploring readers to practice proactive behavior, she writes, “We have to always find the blessing, to be the blessing.”
Some of Avant’s mantras are overstated, but her book is magnanimous, inspiring, and relentlessly optimistic.Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023
ISBN: 9780063304413
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HarperOne
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 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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