Reviews with TLC

Hues of Humanity: A Poetry Collection by Carlin W. Allen grabbed my attention with its cover and title. The concept of exploring the hues of humanity felt like such an interesting play of words, I wanted to know where Allen would go. I felt intensely connected to some poems that I didn't expect to connect to and oddly detached from others in ways that I expected to pull me in. Somehow these surprise reactions felt right in the moment. Allen explores myriad aspects of being human and living in a complex society with a mix of seriousness and levity that felt more immersive that ignoring one aspect for the other might have. Hues of Humanity plays with language to play with the human experience demonstrating how our individual uniqueness and our collective commonalities can unite us. Currently Reading: Our History is the Future: Standing Rock Versus The Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance  by Nick Estes Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World ...

How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older by Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM continues Greger's exploration into the research of how to eat the healthiest diet possible to live the healthiest life possible for the longest healthy life possible. While I understood the need for Greger to refer to videos on his website for further explanation given how long the book already is, I found it distracting at times. How Not to Age isn't a fountain of youth as much as a guide to the benefits of eating healthfully and avoiding unhealthy food. As anyone who has followed Gregor's work knows, the answers are often to follow a plant-based diet still I appreciate that Greger is honest enough to explore even the studies that tangentially point in other directions. How Not to Age debunks myths and explores studies including who paid for the studies and whether the sponsors have a vested interest in the outcome, particularly for their own income at the expen...

Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran is a compilation of a variety of types of works written by Kahlil Gibran.  As soon as I let go of my expectation that there would be more poetry in Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran and subsequently my disappointment that my expectation wasn't met, I really enjoyed Gibran's work. There are a lot of interesting short stories that would classify as flash fiction. There are some excellent poems. There are a couple of engaging novellas. Gibran's writing felt relevant enough to today's world that I had to remind myself a few times that all his works were written before 1931. Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran explores living, loving, society, religion, and tradition both directly and indirectly with intentional, impactful, and often beautiful writing about interesting characters and events. Currently Reading: How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older  by Michael Gregor, Md. Our History is the Future: Standi...

A Guide for Writing & Recording Guided Imagery Meditations by Glenda Cedarleaf, MSW served as research for me as I explore the possibility of writing and recording meditations. I appreciated Cedarleaf's insights into writing meditation scripts and examples of scripts as she shares her journey to writing and recording meditations. With seventy sample scripts included, Cedarleaf's patterns and signatures become apparent in the scripts at times tempting me to skim or skip parts of the meditations.  I felt a need to balance the helpful parts of  A Guide for Writing & Recording Guided Imagery Meditations  with the promotional elements were woven throughout. At times reading the scripts felt almost like meditating rather than studying meditation. Overall, A Guide for Writing & Recording Guided Imagery Meditations is an interesting and informative look at the process of creating guided meditations for a variety of situations. Currently Reading: How Not to Age:...

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates frames his writing and teaching careers around his observations in an almost conversational manner that feels more intimate than I expected.  The Message centers three experiences that highlight Coates coming to terms with his evolving beliefs while using his writing to shine a light on the world in which we live. While Coates's evolution on Palestine has garnered the most attention in the media, all three sections of the book pull together the message he's conveying. I felt like I was experiencing Senegal with him including his moments of self-questioning. His trip to South Carolina to sit in on a meeting where the local citizens were standing up against a ban of one of his books reminded me both that there are good and bad people everywhere and just how important books are. The Message pulled me in to each of Coates's experiences and also his struggle with the evolution of his beliefs when he finds them challenged by the reality he exper...

Fallen Grace by Sadeqa Johnson packs a lot in a few pages in this engaging short story. I immediately felt immersed in the characters' lives enough to care what happened to them. Fallen Grace follows two young girls who escape from a home where young girls are sent to have babies and try to figure out how to take care of a baby while finding their way in a segregated community. Johnson demonstrates the hypocrisy of judging others when grace could be given by highlighting the mistakes and betrayals that prove people are fallible and also worthy. Fallen Grace explores family, friendship, religion, social standing, and empowerment with honesty, realism, and grace.   Currently Reading: How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older  by Michael Gregor, Md. Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran The Message  by Ta-Nehisi Coates Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on those links and make a purchase, I earn a commission ...

Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo took me on more of a roller-coaster ride than I expected. Oluo argues her points so well I often found myself nodding along and wincing at the same time. I was amazed at how accurately Mediocre caused me to pause several times as it seemed to line up far too well with certain situations I've recently encountered proving how indoctrinated these ideas are in all of our lives. Oluo addresses the dynamics of power that feed racism, misogyny, and other forms of oppression. At times, I felt like Oluo was far kinder than she needed to be but other times I questioned some of her more moderate points, both of which surprised me. I didn't necessarily agree with everything Oluo wrote, but even the things I questioned gave me a perspective to consider to better understand where other people are coming from. Mediocre offers an intense but interesting examination of society to anyone willing to expand their ideology aroun...