Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi: My Humble Quest to Heal My Colitis, Calm My ADD, and Find the Key to Happiness
Throughout this entertaining and enlightening memoir, Leaf demonstrates that he is a yogi with a great sense of humor. As a stressed out, straight-A high-school student and the champion debater of New Jersey, he suffered from ulcerative colitis. As a Georgetown University student in 1989, he signed up for yoga on a whim, and ended up improving his health and changing his life. He is occasionally too New Agey here, but most of the time Leaf is down to earth and hilarious. His take on marijuana: “Yoga has the same perks but without the side effects, and it’s cheaper.” A couple of his eight secrets to happiness are disappointing. No one will argue with “follow your heart,” but one “secret” begins with “turn to appendix 6 and determine your Ayurvedic constitution.” Goodness. Still, the likable narrator’s joyful embrace of life is contagious. He begins each chapter with an inspirational quote, such as this one from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.” This book is one of those lovely experiments. --Karen Springen