BOOKLIFE.COM 109MEMOIR
Embodying Soul:
A Return to Wholeness
Keri Mangis | Curiosa
352 pages, trade paper, $18, ISBN 978-1-
73299-120-0
Yoga instructor Mangis’s whim-
sical but ultimately serious teaching
memoir focuses on “embodiment”—
seeing each person as an eternal soul
taking on incarnation in a human
skin for experiential learning—
rather than on a more distant and
rarefied “enlightenment.” She alter-
nates between narrating a challenge-centered version of her life
story and an imaginative fantasy of her soul packing its bags for this
visit to the Earth Realm, accompanied by endless curiosity in the
form of a wolf and strong emotions in the forms of snakes, which she
must learn to see as flawed companions rather than as antagonists.
Mangis’s vision of the Soul Realm, which evokes the candy-
colored aesthetic of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory or the Land of
Oz with features such as the River of Forgetting and a teddy bear–
embellished travel suitcase of memories, appeals to the senses
but can feel off-puttingly pat and childish. It’s sometimes unclear
whether she intends to communicate allegorically or to share literal
gnosis. On the memoir side, Mangis falls into a residual pettiness
about her issues with traditional Christianity and her departure
(under a cloud) from the yoga studio she co-founded, sharing her
point of view more than serving
the reader’s need to connect.
Mangis shines brightest
when she brings herself into
dialogue with the serpentine
embodiments of her emotions.
She relatably describes her
growing ability to see her
emotions as protectors while
resisting their urgings toward
inaction and despair. Her depic-
tion of curiosity as a wise and
playful pup can be hackneyed,
but it appealingly lifts up
learning about the world and
resisting authority as core
values. Her teachings in this
realm are practical as well as
metaphysical, and they will lead
readers to engage in self-explo-
rations via their own meaningful
metaphors. This neatly tied-up
philosophy doesn’t rely on diffi-
cult metaphysical concepts and
will win readers over with
playful visual imagery and
language.MEMOIR
No More Dodging Bullets
Amy Herrig | Inspired Forever
304 pages, trade paper, $16.98, ISBN 978-1-
948903-17-2
In this frank memoir, Herrig
(Forever Joy) describes surviving
many troubles and retaining her
optimism. Her childhood was idyllic
until her senior year of high school,
when her parents divorced. Her
“sketchy years” began then and
culminated in a serious heroin addic-
tion. Herrig managed to clean up her
act and joined the family business: the Gas Pipe, a head shop.
The family’s holdings soon grew to include other businesses.
Marriage, the birth of her twins, and divorce all followed before
Herrig found true love with the manager of a fishing lodge in
Alaska. Just when Herrig’s happiness seemed complete, the
government seized the business’s assets and prosecuted Herrig
and her father for the sale of synthetic marijuana, a hugely profit-
able product that Herrig believed was legal.
Herrig’s memoir is a perceptive portrait of someone who’s
learned that “greed itself can be addicting.” Humble sometimes
to the point of self-deprecation, she accepts full blame for every
mistake she’s made while giving God all the credit for everything
that went right. Though she
acknowledges that her breast
cancer diagnosis and treat-
ment were devastating, she
counts the cancer as a blessing
because it delayed her trial and
gave her time to bring on better
attorneys. At times this relent-
less positive attitude is grating,
though it’s unquestionably
sincere. Balancing it are direct
critiques of the aggressive
prosecution.
Herrig is still in “survivor
mode,” but she has come to the
realization that “our strength is
not defined by what we have
but rather by who we are – the
decisions we make, how we
treat others, and how we live
our lives.” A feel-good, faith-
based memoir about being pros-
ecuted for selling herbal incense
seems implausible, but Herrig
makes it work, and readers
looking to immerse themselves
in positivity will enjoy her story
of finding “the rainbow” that
follows the years of storms.
Readers who want
their spiritual guid-
ance personable but
not edgy will find
Mangis a gentle
companion on their
paths toward self-
understanding.Production grades
Cover: A
Design & typography: A
Illustrations: –
Editing: B
Marketing copy: B
Production grades
Cover: B
Design & typography: B+
Illustrations: –
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-This frank and
moving memoir
about choices and
regrets will espe-
cially appeal to
Christian readers
looking for a feel-
good, faith-based
story.
PAID REVIEWSGreat for fans of
Kevin McCarthy’s
Blindspots: Why Good
People Make Bad
Choices, Edward
Snowden’s Permanent
Record.Great for fans of
Sture Lonnerstrand’s I
Have Lived Before: The
True Story of the
Reincarnation of
Shanti Devi, Rachel
Brathen’s Yoga Girl.