Good book with a serious story. I read this one all in one day and the book will stay with you for a while.

"A Recipe for More" is a persuasive and heartfelt guide, drawing valuable life lessons from the author's personal struggles. Although the pacing felt slow and the text overwhelming due to minimal white space, the book still inspires readers to embrace self-honoring practices and live an abundant life. Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for this opportunity to read and review this transformative work.

This book was hard for me to get into. It really felt like I was reading someone ramble at length. I wouldn’t recommend it.

I could not finish enough of this book to be able to leave a comprehensive review, but I hope it finds its audience and I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

A guide on how to decolonize our minds and reject busyness in order to experience the fullness of who we are meant to be, A Recipe for More is a powerful read. The author's strong sense of self is inspiring, and serves as a guide to readers who are looking for more abundance in their life. I appreciated the language and clarity in this book, and would recommend it highly to others.

I have mixed feelings about this book! While I was originally intrigued by the author's story and inclusive writing (which I haven't seen a lot of in this genre), I found the writing a bit all over the place and hard to follow. It was a solid mix of memoir and self help and I really enjoyed that combination.

While I lost interest half-way through, I found my way back to the chapter titles and honestly found those to be almost enough for me. Each chapter title was insightful and thought provoking. While I can't say this was a favorite for me, this book has a lot of potential for me and I'm sure will resonate strongly with many...

Thank you to Amistad for my free review copy.

Before writing this review, I reread the book summary to determine if I missed some nuances regarding the author and the content. I discovered I had not. My concern stemmed from the fact that this book’s category was listed as “Health, Mind and Body/Self-Help.” It is that but it also has the feeling of a memoir due to the first-person perspective and the extensive use of the author’s subjective experiences.

I was touched by the dedication, which addresses the universal need to belong, and I thought this would set the tone for the book. Subsequently, in the opening chapter, the author describes herself as “a Black & Indigenous, autistic, queer, femme woman,” which heightened my curiosity about the content. Any one of these qualities could marginalize an individual in our society, yet she succeeded through her strength of character and spirit. However, the further I read, I found her self-described identity and its associated issues overshadowing the core message about living an authentic, pleasurable life. I felt compassion, admiration, and respect, but I found it difficult to relate to the material based on my own cultural background. After reading about half the book, I began skimming the remaining chapters due to the verbosity and emphasis on the author’s unique circumstances.

I admire the author’s courage and transparency in sharing her journey and fully support the premise of living a fulfilling life that expresses each person’s unique creative gifts. Her self-help suggestions are highlighted by the chapter titles ranging from transcending the “busy-ness” of our cultural imperative to achieve, to cultivating pleasure, to using fear and rage as catalysts for change. These are illuminating, if basic, in their scope and depth, raising critical social issues for thoughtful contemplation and action on both the personal and collective levels.

I am confident there is an audience that will embrace this book, finding it both inspiring and supportive. However, I did not resonate with it in the way I anticipated when I selected this book based on the summary.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.