S.M.C.'s Reviews

Unlike some celebrity memoirs that focus on art and fame, actress Sally Field’s memoir is much more personal, and includes her life before she was famous. She reveals that as a child, she was sexually abused by her stepfather and talks about how that shaped her decisions regarding her partnerships, which roles she took, and even how she mothered. As an artist, she was drawn to the roles that “spoke of outrage,” but in writing her memoir, you can feel the connection that Field has found with herself. - S.M.C.

I loved this collection of essays. Sharp, political, intelligent, and witty, Havrilesky’s voice reminded me of a merge between Cheryl Strayed’s Dear Sugar and Rebecca Solnit. Havrilesky points out how our culture’s emphasis is tuned to a constant tirade of consuming and reaching—we are to seek out more technology, buy newer apps, climb the ladder, improve our minds, finesse our rooms, spruce ours cars, balance our diets, deepen our relationships…and the list just keeps going. Enough! With heart, humor and insight, Havrilesky helps show that if we stop seeking happily ever after, we might be surprised by just how connected and content we can actually feel. - S.M.C.

Phoebe Siegler, a Manhattan woman who finds herself shattered and floundering after the results of the presidential election, jumps to volunteer to find her close friend’s runaway daughter. Following leads to the California desert, Phoebe meets an obscure private detective known for his ability to find and aid runaways and strays. In search of the missing girl, the two set out on a journey that feels chimerical and twisted. The pair must rely on the desert’s fringe inhabitants, and the story starts to hint of violence and turmoil. This novel/mystery/love story is both an enigmatic tale of being lost and found and a frame for the subtext of a divided America, one where truth, power, and the haves and the have-nots are in need of deep scrutiny. - S.M.C.

Joan Halifax is a scholar, anthropologist, activist, and Buddhist teacher. She has works with neuroscientists, psychologists, politicians, caregivers, teachers, and activists and has named five psychological territories she calls Edge States—altruism, empathy, integrity, respect, and engagement—that epitomize strength of character and can also be the root of suffering. Halifax notes that if we can teeter on the edge of each state and observe our behaviors and impulses from there, we can travel the range of the human experience and do so with openness and courage. - S.M.C.

When Zen practitioner and author Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones) was diagnosed with a dangerous blood cancer, she was suddenly thrown into the world of hospitals, medical lingo, and life-threatening urgency. Months into her own treatment, her partner was also handed a cancer diagnosis. With her Buddhist practice and steadfast spiritual gaze, Goldberg speaks to the importance of recognizing that it is the dance between the dark and the light, the hard and the easy, that makes life full and worthy of living. - S.M.C.

Goleman and Davidson have written a readable and well-researched book that draws on not just the benefits of mindfulness but the brain research on what happens within our body that makes meditation and focused awareness quiet and center us as much as it does. They argue that while the benefits of mindfulness are tenfold, it is important to also have an understanding of the whys and hows of the practice so it does not simply become a cultural phenomenon that gets diluted and loses its worth. With tips, research, and explanation, this book is a wonderful read for those who want to deepen and understand the workings behind their mindfulness practice. - S.M.C.

In the way that Oliver Sacks revealed the complexity and deep heart that exists in the world of neurology, Irvin Yalom has long written books that reveal the bravery and nuances that exist within our relationships with one another (Love’s Executioner, one of Yalom’s early works, remains one of the most poignant nonfiction books I have ever read). Now in his 80s, Yalom turns toward a study of self and memory as a means of discovery. In a blend of traditional memoir and funny imaginings between his older and younger self, Yalom speaks with humor and heart about his upbringing with detached parents, his own foibles at becoming a psychiatrist, and the way that aging is an opportunity for an entirely new way of knowing and understanding the world. - S.M.C.

Having binge-watched the television adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, coupled with current politics, I swore off dystopian stories for the time being just so I could catch my breath. Until, of course, I caught word that my favorite author’s new title was just that. Future Home of the Living God tells the story of one woman, Cedar, who at four months pregnant, is suddenly thrown into a fight for survival when the state of genetic evolution starts to reverse itself. Plants and animals are reproducing species that have long been extinct and there are whispers that the children being born aren’t surviving or if they are, something is very wrong with them. The government responds by gathering genetic data and institutionalizing pregnant women. As Cedar’s pregnancy progresses, we watch the journey that she must endure to protect her unborn child. While this genre is a departure for Erdrich, Future Home of the Living God explores themes familiar to her other books, examining self-identity, loyalty, and the importance of redemption within family. This is a taut and intense whirlwind of a read—whew. - S.M.C.

Joyce Maynard (bestselling of author of At Home in the World) has written a touching and sincere book about finding strength and life in the midst of hardship. In their late 50’s, Joyce and her soon-to-be husband, Jim, met for the first time. Each had been married, had children, and also then subsequently divorced. Neither Jim nor Joyce was particularly looking for love again, but there was a deep connection between the two, that neither could ignore. Maynard writes their story of reclaiming love and romance, getting married, and then dealing with the blow of Jim’s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Praised by Anne Lamott for being full of “the tears and joy of life,” Maynard coveys with such clarity not just the honesty about the ugliness of illness, but also the unparalleled bond of intimacy and awareness that springs forth when life is on the line. - S.M.C.

This wonderful book is part memoir, part adventure and nature writing, and fully a tale of inspiration and hope. In 2015, Tommy Caldwell completed what is considered one of the hardest climbs in the world: a free climb up El Capitan’s vertical wall in Yosemite—that’s 3,000 feet of balance and strength using just his fingers and toes. The Push is an incredible account of endurance as well as a deeply engrossing memoir of a once-self-conscious boy finding the obsession and drive to overcome heartbreak and disappointment in order to achieve the seemingly impossible. - S.M.C.