Opening: Color Edition

By Katharine Stone Ayers and Cherri LaMarr

 

This breathtaking collection of poetry inlaid with original artwork reminds us to be open to the daily beauty that surrounds us and to embrace what emerges from within.

Katharine Stone Ayers invites us to embrace each moment as it arises, whether filled with pain, despair, frustration, compassion, love or delight.  Sh

• Language: English
• Publisher: Katharine Stone Ayers
• Release date: Nov 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9780996596862

Katharine Stone Ayers

Katharine Stone Ayers is an artist, teacher, healer and poet. She has practiced and explored many avenues of healing over the past fifty years. I've always loved to write," says Katharine, "and am delighted to be publishing three poetry books that encompass my life journey: Old Remnants-New Buds, Trembling Heart and Opening. With exquisite mentoring from my teacher, Lorraine Mejia, great input from book designer, Cherri LaMarr, and friends who cheered me on, I'm delighted to bring these works of love to completion." Katharine wants her readers to know that she hopes that reading her poems will be as transformative for them as it was for her writing them. Katharine lives in Maui, where she feels blessed to be living in a stunningly beautiful environment where she is enriched by a diverse artistic, healing and spiritual community

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Reviews for Opening

[pat1eiu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I should start out by saying i am an Agassi fan. I loved watching tennis during the period he played and have not watched much since his retirement. Having said that, i thought this book was amazing. I wished when he retired that he would go on playing a bit longer so i could keep watching him. I felt the same about this book, i wanted his career to be longer so the book would be. Easily one of the top celebrity autobiographies of all time.

[norinrad10 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is hands down one of the best biographies I have ever read. Not sports biographies, but biographies. Agassi gives true insight into the life of a professional athlete. We see both the pain and the glory. Also evident is how different these lives are from our own. Amazing book.

[thewanderingjew_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When I started this book, I must say that I was determined not to like it. I had no real desire to read about the life of a tennis player, that I was very much aware of, but my face to face book group chose it for us.Well, surprise, surprise, it was very engaging and very interesting, far more than I ever expected and each time I put it down, I looked forward to picking it up and reading it. Who would have "thunk"?I was quite struck by the easy way the book is written, by the sincerity of the words on the page which exposed this young man in all his vulnerabilities. If I remembered correctly, he was one of tennis’ bad boys, the one who was influential in bringing color to the tennis court, but now he does not seem so bad after all, rather he seems a sympathetic figure, one almost consumed or driven by an almost Obsessive Compulsive Disorder like syndrome about tennis, one who professes a love/hate relationship with the career he has chosen.This book is quite amazing. As a young boy, Agassi has had to deal with a father who is abusive in his relentless effort to make him the number one tennis player and a mother who seems to absent herself from anything to do with his upbringing. She is the antithesis of his father and seems to be a gentle soul. His father, on the other hand, is a violent man who instills terror in his son and coerces him into keeping the secrets of many of his violent encounters from his mother, whom he would not tell anyway because she has no interest in anything other than her job, her jigsaw puzzles and her animals.Throughout the book, despite his dysfunctional childhood, Agassi maintains his love and respect for his family and a loyalty to his friends and those that help him. The book is told with such honesty and a touch of humor too which made it hard to put down. It was a book about a personage that I grew up with and yet, it was never boring, never tedious, even though I knew the eventual outcome. For someone new to Agassi it will read like a novel, not an autobiography, like a love story about a boy coming of age.

[bjk1903_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very detailed and interesting autobiography.

[kayronald · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fabulously - open - revealing about one of the greatest athletes can have so many challenges and failures and rise again to ultimate greatness.

[erikahope-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had a mad crush on Agassi when I was a teenager. Sat in Wales, UK in a little flat watching Wimbledon instead of going to see Shakespeares birth place with my family etc... But I had no real idea what I was watching, I just liked the intensity of it. This book was a page turner to me and despite critics who dislike his "rebellious" style or say he sold himself to marketers, I found him to be decidedly un-shallow. In fact, for someone so "unschooled" he has some brilliant observations-notably how people kept saying he was changing his style when he points out that he was just trying to find it. They vilify him when really he is just coping with being under such constant pressure and exposure to the world. He points out a truth that people miss:for people who want to find their best and be most fulfilled, it is a long road and just as you can't look at a 6 year old and give a final verdict on what he'll become, you can't make that final jugdgement about a 20 year old. Life is so much longer, hopefully, than it ever seems. I am a sap and love that he married Stephanie. I watched the youtube video of her acceptance speech, I believe for some hall of fame thing, and it was touching. There is more to Agassi than people say. Maybe he's slightly egotistical, but wouldn't most people be in his position. At least he's not robotic like some tennis players or a pretty boy like Federer who doesn't even sweat. Note:If you *don't* enjoy tennis, you will find this boring. There is a lot of talk about each match.

[labwriter · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoy watching tennis, but I wouldn't call myself a tennis nut by any means. I bought this book because the memoir has become my newest favorite genre and this one got great reviews. Only at the end is the excellent writing explained--the book was actually written by J.R. Moehringer, author of the Tender Bar. I would have preferred to know that at the beginning; I knew it wasn't possible for a guy with an 8th-grade education and no writing background to have written this, so I was somewhat distracted by "who done it" until the end (I read this thing on my Kindle, so I didn't find the acknowledgment until I came to the end of the book, which is one of the problems I have with electronic readers--you don't know what to look for until you find it). When I discovered who really wrote the book, I bought Moehringer's memoir right away. This was a very compelling read. Agassi is one of those sad people who had their childhood's stripped from them by a pushy, abusive parent looking to live through their child. Tiger Woods also comes to mind, especially because of the sad/bad news from him lately. It's sad and horrible to know how much this guy hated playing tennis all his life and to imagine what that did to him. The story about Agassi's charter school is inspiring and a testiment to the human spirit.My only quibble with the book is that for me there was too much detail about all the tennis matches. However, a real tennis fan would find the detail to be a strength of the book. Nevertheless, I found the book difficult to put down and I read through it in a couple of days--the writing was just that good.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Tennis star Andre Agassi bares all in his account of his life, from young phenom whose father pushed him to "Hit harder" and asked (or coerced) players to hit with his son, to troubled teen at the Bollettieri Academy to revered veteran of the game.My father read this soon after it came out, and recommended it to me. Whenever it came up, he'd talk to me about Agassi's father, or what Agassi said about other players - he was not a fan of Connors, for example. The one phrase that kept coming to mind while reading his memoir was "brutal honesty." This is a candid account for sure, as Agassi literally opens up about his struggles and how he comes to terms with who he is. His present-tense narrative with no quotation marks for speech could have been distracting, but instead it made the past events all the more immediate. It's hard to say I enjoyed it, but I found it compelling and would definitely recommend it to sports fans and biography fans alike.

[gshuk_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Andre Agassi confesses all with some very personal and suprising revelations. It surprised me that someone so gifted could hate tennis so much. For anyone who followed Andre this will help them better understand why he behaved the way he did.

[lindap69 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had difficulty putting this book down - amazing story, amazing person, one of the greats of my lifetime

[geniaus. · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I bought this book because I am interested in the enigma that is Agassi, have seen him play in Australia and like tennis. I expected it to be another ordinary biography on a subject of interest to me but I was hooked from the very first paragraph. I was astounded by the quality of the writing in this book and the way it told the Andre story, warts and all. The characters, many of whom I have seen play, were well-drawn and came alive in the pages of "Open". I couldn't believe that Andre could write so eloquently so I wasn't surprised to find that the book was ghost-written. Andre's positive perceptions of Australia and Australians such as Pat Rafter and Darren Cahill struck a chord with this proud Aussie. It was gratifying to hear that Andre loved visiting our shores.I recommend this book to all readers irrespective of whether they have an interest in tennis or not. 4 1/2 stars is the highest rating I have ever given to a book - as a harsh judge I just can't give 5. This is one of the most engaging tales I have read in a long time.

[shavonjones · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved it! He really was Open about his career, his mindset, his personal life. Wonderful story for the tennis fan and for other who just like a good autobiography.

[briandarvell_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a phenomenal autobiography. I couldn't put the book down and learned a lot from one of the most charismatic of sports stars. Andre doesn't hold back and admits to some of his biggest personal failings in the book. I would recommend this even for people who aren't big tennis fans as there is so much about life and challenging yourself no matter what you're doing. I'm extremely glad to have read this book.

[flexatone_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Open is most successful in its accounts of Agassi's first 18 years, and of his last year of professional tennis. His relationship with the game, with his father, and with his own talents are wildly interesting and worth reading. The middle chunk of the book, though, is a more sprawling and diffuse. This part will please only the most avid fans, as Agassi recounts specific matches, encounters and clashes with two generations of players.

[lhossler_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ghost written by the author of The Tender Bar. An excellent, well written book that flows. Agassi allows all his warts to be visible. This book helps explains why celebrities act the way they do, sometimes childish, rude, and often seemingly self-serving.

[mahallett · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

easy to read, good reader, interesting info. you want to wish him good luck with his millions and beautiful accomplished wife and 2 beautiful children.!!!

[timjones_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book group I'm in chose this as the book group for our next meeting at a meeting I wasn't at: not being a huge tennis fan, I wasn't sure this would be for me, but in fact it's a very interesting study of the effects ruthless parental ambition can have on a young athlete. Andre Agassi's father pushed and pushed him to become a top tennis player - and he did; but the psychological fallout wrecked the younger Agassi's life for many years. The story of how he gradually and painfully overcame this makes for an often moving autobiography - though the descriptions of the tennis matches themselves tend to blur into one. Perhaps that's appropriate.

[narshkite · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent and compelling memoir. Agassi chose one of the best in the business to co-write. The prose is beautiful, and that makes a huge difference over other famous people memoirs, but Agassi deserves even more praise. The book feels very authentic. Agassi is often a big spoiled child with an enduring need for a posse of paternalistic handlers to deal with every single thing other than playing tennis. But he is also a very real man who yearns for love, acceptance, homage to stay alive. This is outside my typical reading fare, and I was absolutely rewarded for changing it up.

[canadian_down_under · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am a mad tennis fan and always enjoyed watching Agassi play. I have read other player's autobiographies and been unimpressed so I was a bit reluctant to read this. I was pleasantly surprised.Agassi is wonderfully honest in this book. He is not shy about his success and talent but also lets us into the parts of his life that weren't so shiny and bright, including his lack of schooling, his unsuccessful first marriage and his love-hate relationship with tennis.My biggest complaint, as one who loves the English language and grammar, was the incorrect use of pronouns. Throughout the book, Agassi incorrectly uses the pronoun "I" when he should have used "me". For example, he would say, "He was a lot taller than I". This is a common hyper-correction particularly by people who do not have a formal education. It is a small point but one that bothered me throughout the book. It should have been picked up by an editor.All in all, this was a solid autobiography. Recommended for tennis fans in particular as you get a very good look at how talented kids are thrown into the fantasy world of elite sports.

[folkeb_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Most people believe that professional athletes live world class lifestyles, and without a doubt love everything about their job, which happens to be the sport they are playing. Not always. “Open,” an autobiography by the tennis star Andre Agassi, definitely gives a unique perspective of an athlete that didn’t necessarily live a role model type lifestyle. It is true that parents sometimes force their children into a sport, but this story takes it to a whole new level. This stunning, yet truthful story is filled with many story lines, including the never-ending determination of an athlete, a hopeful love story with women’s tennis star Steffi Graf, and the tale of a tennis legend. The books’ strengths are how truthful and unique the story is, and how it grabs your attention from the first lines of, “I open my eyes and don’t know where I am or who I am. Not all that unusual - I’ve spent half my life not knowing. Still, this feels different. This confusion is more frightening. More total,” to the very last page. Just when you think things are going well for Andre, another obstacle, such as drug use, is presented in front of him. The only weakness of the book is not explaining the outcomes of some stories, such as his separation from Wendy. The writing style is perfect and the pace keeps you very into Andre’s story. He uses many great descriptive words so it is easy to understand what he was going through. I would definitely recommend this book, especially to any athlete, because it shows you how much dedication and hard work it takes to excel as an athlete, and how your life will be filled with ups and downs. I personally enjoy hearing professional athletes’ stories, and especially how they deal with obstacles every day.Matt B.

[jenniferrobb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have a fascination with tennis (which unfortunately doesn't translate to being talented at tennis) and I remember Andre Agassi playing. I remember being upset that he shaved his head and got rid of his signature locks (back then we didn't know about his hair problems). I'm not sure what I expected from this book, but I didn't get whatever it was. It started out decently--talking about his childhood and his father teaching him (or forcing him to practice) tennis. I was amazed that he did so well in a game he basically hated. But in between the personal life stuff, it seemed like a lot of factual recitations of his games and career. I appreciated his honesty about his feelings about tennis and winning/losing. I appreciated that he admitted he decided to take drugs and that he wrote a false explanation to the tennis board (I wonder if his admission of this many years later would cause problems for him in the tennis world?) He seemed to understand what went wrong in his relationship with Brooke Shields (though she's not painted in the most beatific light--he does admit what he did wrong in the relationship too.) I was most surprised that she didn't think any of the people around him were good for him except Gil. I thought most of them seemed to be good friends to him in that they interceded with him if he was destroying himself, were honest with him loyal to him. I'm glad he found love again with Stefanie Graf.

[jdy_26 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Agassi describes his life in tennis vividly in his autobiography. Growing up playing tennis, and watching many matches of Agassi vs. Sampras, it's interesting to see his side of things. From the hate for the game, the hair piece, his relationship with Brooke Shields, his beautiful family and relationship with Stefanie Graf... all very interesting and great glimpses into his life. More respect for him now that he wrote the book and shared his feelings, than the respect (which was great) I had for him when he was playing tennis regularly. A great, interesting, and motivating read.

[neale_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great read - especially if you followed tennis during the last 25 years. I didn't realise how many years he played for or how many slams he won. I knew he made a comeback and seemed to a changed person. The book is well written and he is honest about his lies - if that makes sense. Its starts near the end and then re-starts again from the beginning. Some great insights about sport and life - well worth the read.

[jocelynam · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved it. Really fascinated in the tennis scene, the way Andre and Gill reinvented himself 3 times, the exercise regime to do that as he aged. The philosophy behind winning, the effects of losing and the whole support mental health issues

[ohernaes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Grew up with a tennis-obsessed father and a lot of pressure. Became a prodigy, but did not have it easy. Reacted by rebelling against some of the structures, understandably. From the book seems to have calmed down as time passed, but hard to judge only from his own words. Agassi is open about his life, as the title promises, and I enjoyed the book despite not following tennis. A little long for my taste. Recommended.

[eye_gee-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Agassi seems to be a thoughtful, sensitive, and sincere guy who was thrust onto the world stage almost against his will. I was a big tennis fan during the years he played and I was fascinated by his descriptions of the mental side of the game. I was not a big fan of his until the end of his career, when he ditched the big hair and on court antics and signed to play for the pure joy of the game (maybe).

[yankeesfan1_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was certainly an interesting look at Agassi. It gives you a real look at the effect that a pushy stage parent can have on a person. I found the parts that discussed Agassi's relationship with Sampras to be intriguing. There seemed to be a respect between the two, yet Agassi seemed to struggle to understand how Sampras could be so incredibly focused on tennis. Overall, Agassi never claims to be perfect, yet he has certainly worked to overcome his flaws to do good for other people.

[bobbieharv · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Though I'm not usually into celebrity autobiographies or sports memoirs, I wanted to read this because JR Moehringer, who wrote one of the best memoirs I've read, wrote it (though he insisted, to his credit, that Agassi be the sole author). And I wasn't disappointed - it was extremely well done. Just a few too many play by plays, but very open and compelling.

[supermanboidy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When this was recommended to me I was a bit hesitant. I don't read many sports books. I'm a sports fan, but not a tennis fan. I knew of Agassi, but not much. Nonetheless, this book sits as one of my all time favorites. It reads with great honesty, reflection, and excitement. I can't say enough, just a great read.

[occassionalread · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When Open came out it made a bit of a splash. Agassi hated tennis, no really, he truly did. Who knew? It's a refrain that Agassi repeats throughout the book, a kind of repeating joke. But he's serious. What sets Open apart from your average autobiography is Agassi's honesty, his willingness to reveal his warts and not paint a pretty picture for posterity. It's a compelling read, a real page turner. The reader experiences the ups and downs, whether it is Agassi winning a slam, losing (inevitably) to Sampras, getting divorced, or finally finding happiness in his marriage to Steffi Graff. At times Agassi comes off as insensitive or a bit crude. But this is balanced by his grit, earnestness, honesty, and generosity. While talented journalist and author of The Tender Bar, J.R. Moehringer. helped Agassi shape this memoir, the voice is uniquely Agassi's. It's a voice worth listening to. This is a sports memoir with universal appeal. Agassi's life is exceptional, of course, but his trajectory is Homeric and all too human.