Suggesting that many African-American men have lost their sense of self-love, self-respect and self-worth due to the death of their inner spirit, popular TV talk show host Vanzant (In the Meantime; One Day My Soul Just Opened Up; etc.) writes that the traditional masculine persona of work and physical action has failed them in these high-tech times. Men, Vanzant says, must confront their feelings of rage, guilt and shame by exploring the secret parts of their inner selves to become transformed into fully functioning people, conscious of how their thoughts and actions affect themselves and others. In her customary warm, engaging Mother Wisdom voice, Vanzant presents portraits of seven black men with crisis-filled lives to serve as examples for how her transformation process can aid them in removing their emotional toxicity to produce permanent, genuine change. They're to use her "power tools" of awareness, acknowledgment, acceptance, confession, surrender, forgiveness, understanding, commitment, responsibility, "right action" and stillness. While each of the case studies is carefully chosen and somewhat fulfills its role, the cumulative effect of the stories falls short when compared to Vanzant's detailed, exacting analysis of the men's emotional defects and her prescribed cure for their ailments. Closer attention to the portraits would have added more punch and significance to her wise, lucid conclusions, lifting this book far above the usual New Age spirituality and advice book fare. (May)
Forecast:With Vanzant's huge popularity, enduring track record as a bestselling author, six-city tour and a national ad campaign, sales should be brisk. But, as indicated by the relatively weak sales of Sarah Ban Breathnach's
A Man's Journey to Simple Abundance, it's an open question whether men will in large numbers buy a self-help book written by a woman; though of course women buyers will take up some of the slack.
