Originally from London, Lippe came to New York in 1964 to work in publishing for a year. She ended up staying for 40 years, and after a brief marriage (her husband turned out to be gay), managed to live in Manhattan and put her son through private school. Now semiretired (she still works at home, editing books for Bell Tower, the Harmony imprint she started in 1989), she offers her ruminations on "how to live so that supply does not exceed demand or consumption." Although she provides sound advice for living without the unnecessary and suggestions for traveling light, spring cleaning, and shopping and eating mindfully, Lippe's real focus is "not so much about what needs to take place at the physical level... as about what goes on in the mind." A one-time philosophy student and a devoted meditator and yoga practitioner, she calls on Buddhism and other Eastern religions, Judaism and the Bible to teach lessons in nonattachment to ownership or expectations, trust in the universe, present-moment living, openness and acceptance of what is. She also shares thought-provoking personal anecdotes about procrastination, honesty with self and others, single-minded focus and balance. That she lives alone clearly affects her ability to maintain space in her apartment, her mind and her life, and this creates the book's single flaw: many will find that the presence of family members in their homes and lives complicates things considerably. Nonetheless, Lippe offers readers (primarily women) an unusually authentic perspective. Professing "I don't like agony," her voice is refreshingly unsentimental for this genre, self-aware and down-to-earth. (Apr. 15) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Toinette Lippe is a woman whose wisdom is as deep as it is unassuming. The ideas in Nothing Left Over are seeds bursting with vitality and her book is a primer in grateful living. As you come to know her in a delightful intimacy, you come to know yourself from unsuspected perspectives.”
—Brother David Steindl-Rast, author of Gratefulness
“A magnificent piece of writing. Toinette Lippe’s lucid memoir puts into practice what we all intuitively know makes sense but somehow never quite get round to doing.”
—Stephen Batchelor, author of Buddhism Without Beliefs
“I can think of no greater praise than to say this is an honest book; it helps us understand what the values of ‘simple living’ are really meant to impart in a complicated and unsimple world, not just theoretically, but in the details of our everyday existence.”
—Jacob Needleman, author of An Unknown World
“I find myself thrown into a state of wonder that a life story so authentic in its telling and so fascinating to read could be lived amid the turmoil of a modern metropolis.”
—Thomas Berry, author of The Great Work
“Toinette Lippe has used her marvelous gift of word imagery to make her point that a lifetime of simply complete moments emerges as a very full life indeed.”
—Sylvia Boorstein, author of It’s Easier Than You Think
“Read Nothing Left Over slowly in a quiet place. Let it lead you to do some interior housekeeping. Live with those changes for a while, and then return to the book for another gentle suggestion, and then another, about what it really means to be contained and satisfied.”
—Spirituality & Health
“This is the elegance of the book: the idea that any moment contains all we really need to know in order to live simply and plainly; every instance presents an opportunity to refine our awareness so that we can be present and of service to others.”
—Turning Wheel
“Nothing Left Over reveals an independently won spiritual maturity. Readers will appreciate her practical advice on attitudes toward everyday life.”
—Shambhala Sun
“The great pleasure of Nothing Left Over is exactly in its honesty and attention to detail, which flow from Toinette Lippe’s life to her writing and back again. I encourage you to listen to her plain and heartfelt words as I did, and to consider the mysterious and ordinary lessons within: find balance and
travel light.”
—Alan Senauke, Inquiring Mind
“An important book for anyone who has ever wondered what really matters.”
—Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., author of Kitchen Table Wisdom
