Rate this book

Smile At Strangers: And Other Lessons In The Art Of Living Fearlessly (2013)

by Susan Schorn(Favorite Author)

3.65 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0547774338 (ISBN13: 9780547774336)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

review 1: As I read through this book, I was disappointed that it was so karate focused - something I didn't pick up in the title although the image on the cover should have given me a hint. Also, as an ex-Expat who understands what it means to "bloom where planted" I found myself feeling annoyed by the author's whining about living in Hawaii and how she led her family to move back to Texas without really giving the move a chance ( and after all, it was Hawaii - not Moscow, or Dubai, or somewhere truly challenging where the language and the culture is different). All that being said, I consider a book worth the time if I learn even one beneficial piece of information - one thing I can use or share. In this book, there were a few:-I now want to register my teenage daughters, and ma... moreybe even a refresher for myself, for a self empowerment type of self-defense class- most women don't "grow up" until their thirties and this is the best time for adventures. The author states "when you find yourself in the midst of one, you have three choices: you can embrace it, run away from it, or suffer through it. They're all viable options, but the first is the only one that's any fun," (I totally agree but this seems to be a little hypocritical after reading her Hawaii story).- "Beyond each triumph are new peaks to be conquered" - Mas Oyama (and title of a chapter) and "After forty, new challenges hard to find"Although I had a few issues with the book, I would recommend it to other women but especially young women and women interested in the martial arts.
review 2: The book has some few tips about how to be a strong person, face fears, react in unexpected situations, and so on. The rest is a mix of chattering about many experiences the author has lived, and very detailed Karate stuff (techniques, movements, styles, literature, masters). This book can be very interesting for people who likes Karate a lot, but my taste for martial arts stayed behind when I was young with the Goku and Saint Seya age. The remaining of the nice teachings can be read just through the title of each chapter, and maybe skimming through the first paragraphs of them. less

Download links for: Smile at Strangers: And Other Lessons in the Art of Living Fearlessly

Advertising