[Mann's] 2015 memoir, Hold Still, was more spellbinding than most by full-time writers.
Art Work, which promises guidance on the creative life, is pretty much a caboose to that bigger book.The guidance part is a little Julia Cameron, if Julia Cameron still enjoyed a nightly gin and tonic, with a dash of women’s magazine ... Truisms are scattered here like weeds ... The rest, thankfully, is a garden of Mann: profane, literary, adventuresome.
[Mann] brings her distinctive mix of moxie and know-how to a candid, kick-ass, and wise mix of vivid autobiography, advice, and reflections ... As she recounts crucial moments of serendipity and misery, mistakes and breakthroughs with verve, precision, rueful self-critiques, and spirited insights, Mann is galvanic, funny, and profound.
With self-deprecating humor and hard-earned wisdom, Mann lays out professional successes and life-gutting tragedy. Bolstered by Mann’s precise prose and rambunctious Southern storytelling, chapters fly by ... Explores influences, motivations and experiences in intriguing ways, managing to be instructional but never didactic ... [There] is a wildly entertaining account of a luxurious trip to Qatar ... A treasure trove, offering a rare glimpse into creative genius for artists and fans alike.
