Tod Lippy’s new EP Midterms available now

Artist, author, and musician Tod Lippy has released a new EP titled Midterms. Photo: Tod Lippy Music, used with permission.

Tod Lippy, the polymath creative force behind the award-winning arts publication Esopus, has released his latest musical project, Midterms, a six track EP this month following the recent release of the single “Bob” which features on the project. (Tod Lippy, 2022)

Midterms is the third album from Lippy following the well-received LPs Here We Are (2019) and Yearbook (2021), both produced by the legendary Kramer (Low, Galaxy 500). The message behind the rest of Midterms EP is anything but vague: “This country is grappling with a dark period of hyper-polarization, distrust in institutions, and economic instability,” Lippy says. “Midterms is my attempt to come to terms with, and maybe even try to make some sense of, this reality.” The other songs on the album deal with issues ranging from toxic television personalities and celebrity culture to armchair activism and apathy in general.

Acclaimed artist Steve Keene, perhaps best-known for his iconic album art for bands like Pavement, The Apples in Stereo, and Silver Jews, has painted a series of 7 different covers on 50 chipboard sleeves containing the forthcoming lathe-cut 10” vinyl release of Midterms. The paintings include Keene’s interpretations of the EP’s original cover in addition to 6 images corresponding to each track on the release.

Lippy has always been at the forefront of creating art that helps find meaning in life. Starting in 2003, he produced ESOPUS, the esteemed arts publication declared “a thing of lavish, eccentric beauty” by The New York Times. For his “one-man magazine,” Lippy handled all design, editing, publishing, distribution, and selection of/interaction with contributors, ranging from writers like Karl Ove Knausgaard and Francine Prose to art world superstars like Jenny Holzer, Marilyn Minter, Anish Kapoor, and Kerry James Marshall, from filmmakers such as actor Lisa Kudrow and director David Lynch to musicians and composers like Kimya Dawson, Sharon Van Etten, and Carter Burwell. 

Lippy has also made a name for himself as a book designer, most recently creating the cover for Louis Menand’s critically acclaimed The Free World (FSG); artist, earning a coveted MacDowell Colony Residency in 2018 to complete a series of drawings related to his work on Esopus); curator, responsible for exhibitions at White Columns and Pioneer Works, among other venues); writer for Artforum and other publications; and filmmaker, whose 2000 short film Cookies played at 20 film festivals around the world.

Tod Lippy may be best-known as the creator of the award-winning arts journal ESOPUS, the multidisciplinary publication that attracted readers from around the world over the course of its 25-issue run and is now in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art and the Library of Congress, among many other institutions. Every issue of ESOPUS included a CD of brand-new music Lippy commissioned from musical acts such as Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, Neko Case, Cloud Nothings, and Kimya Dawson. Lippy, who studied classical guitar for over a decade, was inspired by their contributions to start making music on his own. When ESOPUS ceased publication in 2018, he started spending a significant amount of time honing his songwriting and recording skills.

Selena Maria Sings opens at the Magik Theatre this week

Selena Maria Sings opens at the Magik Theatre on Saturday, September 10, 2022. Photo: Magik Theatre, used with permission.

Magik Theatre is proud to present Selena Maria Sings, featuring a Mexican American family starring a teenager, Selena Maria struggling to find her own voice after being named after Tejano music star Selena Quintanilla. Selena Maria has much to live up to, like her namesake, Selena Maria’s passion is music—but her heart belongs to indie sounds and songwriting. This is a story of music, family love, and the strength it takes to be yourself. Enjoy a mix of different genres and original music by Las Cafeteras’ Daniel French uniquely created for this production. (Magik Theatre, 2022)

“Selena Maria Sings is not Selena Quintanilla’s story, but it is the story of embracing your true self — that’s the legacy that she left us, and it is the legacy of all the special people in our lives who have touched our souls but left us too early. It is a story of how we humans survive tragedy, and how we must live fully and completely to honor the gift of life and those who have loved us into being by being exactly who we are — to “sing” forever.” – Playwright Miriam Gonzales

Selena Maria Sings will be playing at the Magik Theatre from September 10 – October 2. It is recommended for ages 6 and over.

Single tickets are $18.50 for children (ages 2-17), Military, Seniors, and Educators | $22.50 for adults | Children under 2 years old are free. If a child under 2 uses a seat, even a car or booster seat, the patron must pay for a general-admission ticket. Group rates are available to parties of ten or more people

Special Performances

American Sign Language Interpreted Performance

  • Saturday, September 14 at 2p.m.

Robert Cardoza, the San Antonio theatre community’s primary sign language interpreter, will be available during this performance for patrons that require ASL as their primary form of communication.

Sensory-Friendly Performance

  • Wednesday, September 28 at 10:30p.m.

Sensory-friendly performances are designed to create a welcoming environment for people who are on the autism spectrum or may have sensory sensitivities. The integrity of the performance remains the same, while production elements are modified to accommodate individuals with sensory needs allowing families and friends of those with autism or other disabilities the opportunity to enjoy an authentic performance experience together.

Pay What You Wish Performances

  • Friday, September 16 at 6:30p.m. and Friday, September 30 at 6:30p.m.

Our way of giving back to the community and providing an opportunity for families to experience live theatre with a donation of any amount.

MASK REQUIRED PERFORMANCES

  • Saturday, July 30 at 2p.m.
  • Sunday, August 7 at 3p.m.

If you would like to attend a mask-required performance, this option is for you. We have adopted a model that allows us to go above and beyond standard schedules. It also provides you with peace of mind knowing that all of our performers and staff continue to follow strict health and safety protocols including the option to select your experience while in the theatre.

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American Mariachi opens this week at The Public Theater of San Antonio

American Mariachi will have a limited four weekend run at The Public Theater of San Antonio. Photo: The Public Theater of San Antonio

Opening this week at The Public Theater’s Russell Hill Rogers Theater is American Mariachi. American Mariachi is set in the 1970s, where Lucha spends her days caring for her ailing mother but longs to shake up her life. When a forgotten record sparks her mother’s memory, Lucha and her cousin strike upon a radical idea: to create an all-female mariachi band. Infused with live music played by a live mariachi band, this “big-hearted, musical tugs at the heartstrings” and reminds us how music and love can make just about anything possible. This play with music is filled with well-known mariachi classics and depicts beautiful portraits of Latina women that any San Antonian can relate to. Written by José Cruz González, this premiere production marks the first time a Latino writers’ work will be produced at the Russell Hill Rogers Theater in the organization’s 100 years. (The Public Theater of San Antonio, 2022)

American Mariachi opens on Friday September 9 and tickets are now on sale: Adults $45, Military/Senior/Student $30, and Youth $15. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 7:30p.m. and Sunday at 2p.m. There will be an entire weekend (September 16 – 18) of Pay What You Will Nights when tickets are as low as $5 in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Directed by Claudia de Vasco, the cast includes Andrea Daniela, Giselle Galindo, Isabel de la Cerda, Abraham Zapata, Amy Mireles de la Rosa, Jai A. Gonzales Quintero, Bianka Nicole Torres, Crystal M. Bratton, and Jose de Hoyos.

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Pearl announces programming for Hispanic Heritage Month celebration

Pearl celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Viva Dieciséis, a month long celebration with special programming, retail specials, and more. Photo: Matt Buikema, used with permission.

Pearl is excited to announce its programming for Hispanic Heritage Month, this September 15 – October 15, starting with a big Viva Dieciséis at Pearl celebration and continuing throughout the month with events, specials, a mural designed by artist Martha Martinez, and more throughout the property. (Pearl, 2022)

“With our rich history and connection to Mexico, Dieciséis is an important celebration and part of the Texas experience. As a central gathering place for San Antonio and people from all over the world, we are happy that the Pearl community can celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and honor the Latinx experience across many nationalities.” – Pearl CEO Mesha Millsap

Viva Dieciséis at Pearl – Friday, September 16

To celebrate Mexican Independence Day, Pearl will host a free event featuring a variety of mariachi groups that will play throughout the property including Trio Canteres de Mi Tierra, Las Coronelas and Mariachi Azteca with a guest appearance from Mateo Lopez, the world’s youngest Mariachi. The Viva Dieciséis festivities will also include a traditional grito by Consul General of Mexico in San Antonio Ruben Minutti Zanatta as well as loteria games and a grito contest in partnership with the Mexican Consulate and H-E-B.

The full event schedule is as follows:

  • 5p.m. – Mariachi Festival kicks off at the shade structure (in front of Southerleigh)
  • 5p.m. – Burbank High School mariachi group to perform at Parkito (next to Local Coffee)
  • 5:30p.m. – Loteria games and guitar painting by the Mexican Consulate
  • 6p.m. – Harris Middle School mariachi group to perform at Parkito
  • 6p.m. – Stilt walkers from Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center perform
  • 6:45p.m. – Grito by Consul General of Mexico and Grito contest takes place under the shade structure
  • 6:45p.m. – Las Coronelas to perform at the shade structure
  • 7p.m. – Trio Canteres de Mi Tierra to perform throughout the grounds
  • 7p.m. – Mariachi Azteca to perform under the shade structure with guest Mateo Lopez

The mural, created by Martha Martinez of MM Creative, in collaboration with Servin and Don Mos, celebrates the San Antonio community’s rich cultural history. “Cultura, Orgullo and Corazón – are words that describe San Antonio, its people and its spirit. As a majority Latino community, we celebrate our community all year round,” says Martinez.

Retail Specials

Throughout Pearl during Hispanic Heritage Month, visitors and shoppers can find special deals, displays, pop-ups and more that honor our Hispanic community. Dos Carolinas, known for its beautiful guayabera shirts, will host a 15-20% off sale from September 15 through September 24. Curio and Larder at Hotel Emma will feature Latinx makers at their store with Larder hosting a 17HERNÁN mole event on September 17. Hotel Emma will also host a series of tastings featuring Latinx goods for guests of the hotel.

Feliz Modern Pop is planning to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with displays featuring Latinx makers and brands. The featured artists at Feliz Modern Pop will include designer Mario Diaz, jewelry maker Natazia Renee, artist Natalie Trinidad, artist Rafael Gonzales Jr, and artist Eva Sanchez. Brands like Very That, Miradela and Mi Dulce Vida will also be featured at the store throughout Hispanic Heritage Month.

Rancho Diaz will also celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with displays throughout the store that introduce shoppers to the people behind the brands they carry. Throughout the month they will feature artist Hailey Marmolejo and brands like Del Alma Imports, and Tex Mex Dance Party.

Culinary Celebrations

Restaurants across Pearl will be celebrating with specialty cocktails, unique new dishes, music, and more. Jazz, TX will host a Salsa night with Jose Amador and NATIAO Latin Jazz on September 17 at 7:30p.m. Boiler House will debut a new mezcal margarita with jalapeño and cilantro called “The San Antonian” in celebration of the city’s vibrant blend of cultures. Chilaquil in the Bottling Department is bringing mole chilaquiles to the menu for Dieciséis and will offer free aguas frescas with purchase throughout the month. 

La Gloria will be offering several new specials as part of their Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations: 

  • Chiles en Nogada – traditional poblano chile stuffed with picadillo meat with fruit, topped with walnut-based cream sauce, pomegranate seeds, and parsley
  • Bandera Elote – shaved in a cup or cob, topped with chili powder, cotija cheese, and cilantro to resemble the Mexican flag
  • Bandera Margarita – frozen margarita with pickle chamoy at the bottom and strawberry at the top, garnished with salt or chili, a lime and a Mexican flag toothpick

As part of their Dieciséis celebration on September 16, La Gloria will feature the aforementioned menu items in addition to live entertainment all evening, a cantarito satellite bar and a Herradura tequila flight special.

 

New book release: ‘They Call Her Fregona’ by David Bowles

David Bowles’ new book ‘They Call Her Fregona’ will be released September 6, 2022. Photo: Amazon

David Bowles grew up in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, where he teaches at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He is the author of several award-winning titles, including “They Call Me Güero,” “The Smoking Mirror,” the 13th Street series, and “Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico.” His picture book debut, “My Two Border Towns,” is available in English and Spanish. In 2020, David co-founded #DignidadLiteraria, a grassroots activist hashtag and movement dedicated to promoting equity for Latinx people in publishing. His new book “They Call Her Fregona: A Border Kid’s Poems” will be released on Tuesday, September 6, 2022. Honoring multiple poetic traditions, “They Call Her Fregona” is a bittersweet first-love story in verse and the highly anticipated follow-up to “They Call Me Güero.” (Amazon, 2022)

“They Call Her Fregona” – “You can be my boyfriend.” It only takes five words to change Güero’s life at the end of seventh grade. The summer becomes extra busy as he learns to balance new band practice with his old crew, Los Bobbys, and being Joanna Padilla’s boyfriend. They call her “fregona” because she is tough, always sticking up for her family and keeping the school bully in check. But Güero sees her softness. Together they cook dollar-store spaghetti and hold hands in the orange grove, learning more about themselves and each other than they could have imagined. But when they start eighth grade, Joanna faces a tragedy that requires Güero to reconsider what it means to show up for someone you love.

Excerpt available.

New book release: ‘Fairy Tale’ by Stephen King

Stephen King’s new book ‘Fairy Tale. Photo: Amazon

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent novels include “Billy Summers,” “If It Bleeds,” “The Institute,” “Elevation,” “The Outsider,” “Sleeping Beauties” (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: “End of Watch,” “Finders Keepers,” and “Mr. Mercedes.” His novel “11/22/63” was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works “The Dark Tower,” “It,” “Pet Sematary,” and “Doctor Sleep” are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. In his new book “Fairy Tale,” which will be released Tuesday, September 6, the legendary storyteller goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for that world or ours. (Amazon, 2022)

“Fairy Tale” – Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid: good at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. When Charlie is seventeen, he meets a dog named Radar and her aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from it. Charlie starts doing jobs for Mr. Bowditch and loses his heart to Radar. Then, when Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie a cassette tape telling a story no one would believe. What Bowditch knows, and has kept secret all his long life, is that inside the shed is a portal to another world. King’s storytelling in “Fairy Tale” soars. This is a magnificent and terrifying tale in which good is pitted against overwhelming evil, and a heroic boy—and his dog—must lead the battle.

Excerpt available.

New book release: ‘Roar Like a Goddess’ by Acharya Shunya 

‘Roar Like a Goddess’ is the new book by Acharya Shunya. Photo: Amazon

Acharya Shunya is a truth teller who facilitates authenticity, self-remembrance, and Divine Feminine pathways to awakening within. The first female head of her 2,000-year-old Indian spiritual lineage, Shunya reinterprets and recontextualizes ancient teachings for modern times, empowering people everywhere to lead fulfilled, fearless, and enlightened lives. She is president of The Awakened Self Foundation in California and author of “Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom” and “Sovereign Self.” Her new book “Roar Like a Goddess: Every Woman’s Guide to Becoming Unapologetically Powerful, Prosperous, and Peaceful” is a rallying cry for women everywhere to break free from the shackles of patriarchy and awaken their true nature, brought to life through India’s primary goddess archetypes. The release date is September 6, 2022. (Amazon, 2022)

“Roar Like a Goddess” – Within you is a wellspring of strength and resilience, the ability to create and enjoy abundance, and an expansive sense of inner freedom and divinity. Yet after centuries of living in patriarchal societies, many women do not realize how powerful they are―or how much they have been enculturated to keep their true nature hidden. “In Roar Like a Goddess,” trailblazing Vedic spiritual teacher Acharya Shunya empowers women everywhere to step into their divine immensity and lead powerful, abundant, and wise lives through her revolutionary revisioning of ancient India’s primary goddess archetypes: Goddess Durga, Goddess Lakshmi, and Goddess Saraswati.

Throughout “Roar Like a Goddess” Shunya honors her progressive Vedic roots while breaking the shackles of tradition to bring modern-day women an inclusive, feminist spirituality. Sharing classic myths, original insights, and empowering practices, Shunya offers a profound process for awakening the many faces of goddess within. “It is time for all women to come out of the closet and roar with all their spiritual power,” she writes, “because that is our true sound.”

Award-winning documentary Our American Family opens this month

Our American Family opens in theaters in New York and Los Angeles and Video on Demand. Photo: Giant Pictures, used with permission.

Our American Family will be released in the United States theatrically in New York (Cinema Village), Los Angeles (Laemmle Monica) on September 2 and on Video On Demand in the United States, Canada, UK, and major territories on September 6, both timed to National Recovery Month. Video on Demand platforms include US – Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, Canada- Apple TV/iTunes, Google Play, and UK- Apple TV/iTunes. (Giant Pictures, 2022)

Winner of the Woodstock Film Festival 2021- Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
Addiction is an all-encompassing force, in not only of the lives of the afflicted, but also those around them. Our American Family provides an honest, unfiltered look at a close-knit Philadelphia family dealing with generational substance abuse. Captured at a pivotal “nothing to lose” moment, for over the course of a year, five family members tired of life with addiction on center stage, each struggle to transcend their crippling histories.

What will it take to shift this entrenched, wrenching pattern in their lives? Will they be able to make significant shifts to help their next generation? The members of Our American Family invite us into their lives to find hope and to explore what is possible. Though they often falter, their familial loyalty is powerful, demonstrating how through love and dedication people can rise out of the deepest depths. For a touching, eye-opening look into one of America’s most pressing crises, look no further.

Our American Family opens in September timed to National Recovery Month, a national observance held every September to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the emergence of a strong and proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers and community members across the nation who make recovery in all its forms possible.

Hallee Adelman is a writer, filmmaker, and co-founder of World of HA Productions. She is an executive producer on the Emmy-winning documentary “The Social Dilemma,” and the Oscar-nominated international film “Writing with Fire.” Other titles include the Academy shortlisted, “The Truffle Hunters,” the Sundance premiere “UsKids,” and the soon to be released, “Art & Krimes by Krimes.” Recent festival premieres, “Aisha,” “Broadway Rising,” and “Your Friend, Memphis.” Adelman is a Board Member of the International Documentary Association. Adelman co-directed and produced Our American Family after a writing project deepened her connection with the brave participants featured in the film.

Feature Length Documentary / (USA) / 87 mins

Photo: Giant Pictures, used with permission.

New movie releases: September

The Alternate is one of the movies that will be available this September on digital platforms. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

A new month means a whole new batch of movies coming up in a variety of genres, from horror, to documentaries, and romance. I prefer science fiction movies dealing with time travel/alternate universes so The Alternate looks good to me, but below is a list of upcoming movies that will be available on digital platforms. (October Coast, 2022)

OUT NOW
We Are Gathered Here Today
Drama | Cinedigm | Digital Platforms (U.S, CANADA)
Director: Danny Boyd, Cast: Danny Huston, Lin Shaye, Phoebe Tonkin, Javicia Leslie
Synopsis: We Are Gathered Here Today is a film about a multi-generational mixed-race family coming together to say their last goodbye to the patriarch of the family, while at the same time dealing with other underlying issues that family gatherings can bring.

SEPTEMBER 2 (limited digital), SEPTEMBER 16 (global national digital release)
Surrogate
Paranormal thriller | Indie Rights | Digital Platforms (U.S, AU, UK, NZ, CANADA)
Director: David Willing, Cast: Kestie Morassi and Jane Badler
Synopsis: Written by Beth King and David Willing, in his feature directorial debut, Surrogate tells of Natalie Paxton (Morassi), a single mother and nurse, who falls mysteriously ill and struggles to stop her family from being destroyed.

Mister Limbo
Sci-fi/Comedy/Horror | Terror Films | Digital Platforms (U.S/CANADA)
Director: Robert G.Putka, Cast: Hugo de Sousa, Vig Norris, Cameron Dye, Hugo Armstrong
Synopsis: A young man in a parachute lands in the middle of a desert. He does not remember who he is or how he got there.

SEPTEMBER 6
Kingdom of the Dinosaurs
Sci-fi/Horror | Uncork’d Entertainment | Digital Platforms/DVD (U.S/CANADA)
Director: Scott Jeffrey, Cast: Mark Haldor, Darcie Rose, Chelsea Greenwood, Chrissie Wunna
Synopsis: In 2030 during World War III a small group of survivors make it into a bunker. Two years later they have to exit to find new supplies, but they are greeted by dinosaur predators.

Something in the Woods
Sci-fi/Horror | Uncork’d Entertainment | Digital Platforms/DVD (U.S/CANADA)
Director: Alex T. Hwang, Cast: Nicole Cinaglia, Robbie Dias
Synopsis: The creature feature tells of two women who battle a frightening monster in the woods and stars Nicole Cinaglia.

This Land
Drama/Documentary | Gravitas Ventures | Digital Platforms/DVD (U.S/CANADA)
Director: Matthew Palmer
Synopsis: From executive producer, Sundance and SXSW winner Jim Cummings (Thunder Road, The Beta Test), This Land is a film exploring six groups of Americans as they experience Election Day across the United States.

SEPTEMBER 13
Gameboy: The Movie
LGBTQ+/Romance | Dark Star Pictures | Digital Platforms/DVD (U.S/CANADA)
Director: Ivan Andrew Payawal, Cast: Kokoy de Santos and Elijah Canlas
Synopsis: Gamers turned lovers Cairo and Gavreel spend time together a few weeks before Cairo returns to his province. Their relationship is tested as they have to deal with distance, the pandemic, fate, and circumstance.

Greywood’s Plot
Horror-comedy | Terror Films | Digital Platforms (U.S, UK, AUSTRALIA, NZ, CANADA)
Director: Josh Stifter, Cast: Josh Stifter, Daniel Degnan
Synopsis: Two friends venture into a forest to see if a monster sighting is real. Has won acclaim on the festival circuit. Stifter’s follow-up to cult favorite The Good Exorcist.

The Alternate
Sci-fi/Thriller | Uncork’ d Entertainment | Digital Platforms/DVD (U.S, CANADA)
Director: Alrik Brussell, Cast: Ed Gonzalez Marino
Synopsis: Upon unlocking a portal to an alternate dimension where all his dreams have come true, struggling filmmaker Jake is forced to confront his idealized self.

SEPTEMBER 15
How Dark They Prey
Horror | Film Valor| Digital Platforms, WatchMoviesNow (U.S, CANADA)
Director: Jamison M. LoCascio and Adam Ambrosio, Cast: Josiah Schneider, Timothy Paul Jobe, and David Johnson.
Synopsis: Four dark tales about the haunting nature of man and the unknown from WWII to Alien investigation, finding the occult, and kidnap with torture, the highly anticipated horror anthology is written by Adam Ambrosio, Anthony LoCascio and Jamison M. LoCascio.

SEPTEMBER 30
The Wild Man
Horror | Terror Films| Digital Platforms (U.S, UK, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, CANADA)
Director: Ryan Justice, Cast: Michael Pare
Synopsis: Young women have been going missing in Ochopee, FL, without a single suspect in custody. A young journalist, Sara, convinces her crew to join her investigation as she travels to Ochopee to document her discoveries, but they soon realize their presence in this town is not welcome. Determined to find her story, Sara convinces her friends to stick with her, because they are onto something big. Upon meeting Dale, the town’s notorious conspiracy theorist, she is convinced he knows more than he is willing to share. The crew humors Dale’s ridiculous theories, even accompanying him into the Florida swamps on his quest to show them “The Wild Man,” hoping he will somehow reveal his guilt. But what the crew discovers is a secret much deeper than fairy tales and legends. What they discover is much darker and more sinister than they bargained for.

 

Book review: ‘Unfear’ by Gaurav Bhatnagar and Mark Minukas

‘Unfear: Transform Your Organization to Create Breakthrough Performance and Employee Well-Being’ by Gaurav Bhatnagar and Mark Minukas of Co-Creation Partners. Photo: Sandra Cruz

Gaurav Bhatnagar is the founder of Co-Creation Partners and has dedicated more than two decades to helping companies thrive and achieve breakthrough performance. Since founding Co-Creation Partners in 2010, he has designed and led programs and workshops for private, public, and social-sector clients across multiple industries, including financial services, basic materials, manufacturing, healthcare, and technology. Mark Minukas has worked across multiple industries, including financial services, high tech, biotech manufacturing, IT services, and governmental offices to deliver both top-and bottom-line improvements and build high-performing operations. As co-authors of “Unfear: Transform Your Organization to Create Breakthrough Performance and Employee Well-Being,” these top experts on high-performing organizations show you how to reframe your, and your employees,’ relationship with fear and anxiety to create a learning culture of engaged workers at the top of their game. (Amazon, 2022)

“Unfear” – Fear and uncertainty have been undermining performance and well-being in the workplace for as long as we have had workplaces. Mismanaged fear is responsible for almost all of the dysfunction that most organizations experience. While fear can drive short-term results, it does so at the cost of high employee burnout and turnover. It also undermines long-term business performance. We can not eradicate it entirely; it is inherent to the human condition. Winning organizations are not fear-free; they know how to reframe fear into opportunities for learning and growth. They create resilient cultures of unfear. This book is divided into two parts: Part I: Fear with chapters such as Biology of Fear and Unfear and Eight Fear Archetypes in the Workplace and Part II: Unfear and includes chapters on Unfear Transformation and The Unfear Organization. In the Introduction, the authors explain how it is divided: the first part explores fear including its impact and the different ways in which it is expressed in an organization and the second part explores unfear and how to bring about an unfear transformation. This timely and essential guide shows leaders the impact of fear, the strategies and actions needed to bring about an unfear organization, and so much more.

Fear is a natural part of life and therefore impossible to avoid. Instead of hiding from it, we should learn to not only live with it, but learn how to use it to our advantage in every day life, including in the business world. In their book ‘Unfear,’ the authors define the different types of fear and offer advice on how to ‘unfear’ – to shift our relationship with fear and use it as a tool to learn and grow. It is an extremely useful and easy to read business guide that uses down to earth language that does not include too much business jargon. Highlights include Chapter 2: Biology of Fear and Unfear that explains the biology of fear and its importance “In order to live as an unfear individual, you need to understand the evolutionary function of fear and how it can cause dysfunction in the modern world,” Chapter 3: Eight Fear Archetypes in the Workplace, and Chapter 7: The Unfear Organization which emphasizes the need to control fear mindset in the workplace “Instead of cohesion and focus, it [fear] leads to second-guessing, indifference, and wasteful internal politics.” This proven approach to workplace anxiety reduces stress, boosts engagement, and overcomes obstacles that get in the way of success. In the long run, it leads to personal rewards, greater profits, and sustainable growth which is only possible with a culture of unfear. ‘Unfear’ is an excellent guide for recognizing and overcoming fear not only in our personal lives but in the workplace. It is recommended for readers who appreciate self help and enrichment books as well as books on workplace culture, business, and human resources.

“Look forward rather than backward. Don’t dwell too much on why something went wrong. Instead, recognize the value in reflection and diagnostics, but keep most of your focus on solutions and the future.”

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.

Rating: 4 out of 5.