Book Reviews
Please enjoy the following reviews of Dr. Joan Kenley's books.
Network Magazine
VOICE POWER: A Breakthrough Method
to Enhance Your Speaking Voice
by Joan Kenley, Ph.D.
Henry Holt & Co., Inc. 1989
If you're looking for a book about improving your voice
that you can take seriously, Kenley's book is a delightful surprise. Funny
and engaging, she has that ability — rare in a non-fiction author
— to educate while seeming to entertain. As an actress, Kenley worked
with such greats as Julie Andrews and Jackie Gleason before setting up
her own communications company to teach people how to find their own "natural
voice."
This is not an elocution text; the author is concerned, first and last,
with the practicalities: communicating your positive human energy to inspire
others and invigorate organizations. And since, in communicating feelings
and attitudes, your voice can have over five times the impact of the actual
words you say, these techniques have wide application. She runs readers
through "A Day in the Life of Your Voice," analyzing the different
requirements we make of our "Morning Voice," "Lover's Voice,"
"Businesslike Voice," and so on.
Kenley's techniques grew out of her own need, as an actress, to have a voice that was reliable and effective, and her interest in the practical is evident. Body and voice work together so closely that Kenley, a body psychologist, refers to the desired goal as a "BodyVoice."
The book contains substantial interactive exercises to put the reader in touch with precisely where different stresses are located in the body, and the way these affect the quality of the voice as perceived by others. It lists techniques for quieting the "Attacking Voice," that nagging self-critical inner judge that throttles effective expression.
She also details what she calls the "BodyBreath," a series of techniques to engage the whole body in breathing as a preparation for effective speaking. The last seventy pages of the book are a collection of specific body and voice techniques, illustrated with photographs and diagrams.
VOICE POWER is a fun read as well as a very practical, thorough book. It deserves its emerging reputation as the new classic on effective use of the speaking voice.
Joan Kenley, Ph.D.
with John C. Arpels, M.D.
WHOSE BODY IS IT ANYWAY?
Smart Alternative and Traditional
Health Choices for Your Total Well-Being
Newmarket (352 pp.)
$24.95
Feb. 1999
ISBN: I -55704-354-X
Part pep talk, part health update for women, psychologist Kenley had her
own serious health crisis, insensitive medical care, and a feeling of
being alone in her difficulties. So with gynecologist John C. Arpels,
M.D, she covers the relevant ground so others will know what to expect.
Dr. Kenley encourages readers to become health-active. "Women's optimal
wellness is uncharted," she cautions, "and we need to arm ourselves
with knowledge. Know it—stop the mystery. Choose it—find
your path. Use it—take action right away." With that tone
set, Kenley and Arpels make an overall survey of symptoms, such as memory
lapses and sleep disturbance. They go into greater depth on hormonal therapy,
hot flashes, incontinence and sexual issues, and give an overview of strategies
for avoiding heart disease and osteoporosis. The chapter on "Identity,
Habits, and Weight" discusses self-image, aging, grooming, vitamins,
stress, and weight concerns. A significant portion of the book is given
over to schedules and charts: when to have what screening tests, the hows
and whys of various alternative therapies, as well as helpful nutritional
guides.
Kenley, Joan, Ph.D.
with John C. Arpels, M.D.
Whose Body Is It Anyway?
Smart Alternative and Traditional Health
Choices for Your Total Well-Being.
Newmarket. Feb. 1999. c.352p. index
LC 98-11514. ISBN 1-55704-354-X
$24.95
HEALTH
Kenley, a psychologist and women's health advocate, provides a valuable contribution to the ever-growing body of literature on women's health. Using a determined and upbeat approach, she encourages women to take charge of their physical health. She also gives them the tools, providing a wealth of up-to-date information about key issues that women face at each stage of life. Topics include detecting and coping with breast cancer, treating osteoporosis, maintaining optimal cardiovascular healthiness, plus self-identity concerns, hormone replacement therapy, weight management, sexuality issues, nutrition, sleep disorders, and many menopause questions. This book is sensible, straight-forward and readable, with helpful tips, well-organized charts, and simple graphics. This resource will enable women to be intelligent healthcare consumers, armed with the sort of information previous generations lacked and that physicians today may not give them. Highly recommended for public library and consumer health collections.
- Linda M.G. Katz, MCP,
Philadelphia
February 15, 1999
WHOSE BODY IS IT ANYWAY?
Smart Alternative and Traditional Health
Choices for Your Total Well-Being
by Joan Kenley, Ph.D.,
with John C. Arpels, M.D.
$24.95 Feb. 1999, 1-55704-354-X,
Newmarket Press.
In an age when what's "good for you" amid what's not changes so often that "health" now has its own segment on the nightly news, it's no wonder that being well has become confusing. Kenley, however, motions us aside and simplifies just about every single health issue we boomer women could have. From heart disease to HRT, cosmetic surgery to osteoporosis, she provides the latest conventional wisdom from both allopathic and alternative belief structures and empowers readers with virtually all the information needed to make informed decisions about health care. As a former patient who almost lost her life, Kenley knows first-hand the difficulty women often experience in their attempt to resolve very real health issues.
The content is terrific, including a chart indicating which areas of the breast are most likely to develop cancer — information you just can't get anywhere else. Of special interest is the "Contract Between Friends," which encourages women to support each other in pursuing wellness, and the "Diagnostic Questionnaire" to take along on your next doctor's appointment. -LM
No. 3 MAY/JUNE 1999
Health
WHOSE BODY IS IT ANYWAY?
Smart Alternative and Traditional Health Choices for
Your Total Well-Being
Joan Kenley, Ph.D. with John C. Arpels, M.D.
Newmarket, $24.95 (352p) 1-55704-354-X
Spurred by difficulties encountered in receiving appropriate treatment for her own health problems, psychologist and broadcaster Kenley assembled a team of medical advisors, headed by gynecologist Arpels, to vet this somewhat pugnaciously titled health guide for women. Wellness after the hormonal changes that begin to occur after age 35 is a main focus; consequently, issues related to hormone supplements, menopause, urinary tract infections, incontinence, and midlife sexual concerns are given major play. Basic information on recognizing and preventing heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis is presented in a reassuring manner. There's friendly lifestyle advice on eating, exercising, and self-reflection, plus the latest in skin treatments, hair care, and plastic surgery. Where appropriate, Kenley suggests complementary alternative therapies and lists them alphabetically in the handy reference segment. Other reference features are check-up schedules, vitamin and mineral data as well as an extensive symptom-remedy chart. This is a good starting place for women looking for answers to their midlife health questions — and all in type large enough for bifocal-needy eyes. (Mar.)
104 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY / February 15, 1999
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