Don’t Just Sit There – DO NOTHING! Healing, Chilling & Living with the Tao Te Ching

Healing, Chilling & Living with the Tao Te Ching

New Book Launches March 1, 2022

We live in a time when it is hard to know what’s enough. Are we doing enough? Do we have enough? Have we watched/read/consumed enough? It seems that there’s always something more we can be doing to better ourselves or our lives.

Tao Te Ching

Author Jessie Kanzer knew this feeling all too well, but when she discovered the Tao Te Ching, she was able to rebuild herself and her life by learning how to do one thing: nothing.

In Don’t Just Sit There, DO NOTHING: Healing, Chilling, and Living with the Tao Te Ching, (Hampton Roads Publishing—Available March 1, 2022), Jessie offers 47 inspirational pieces that are smart, hip, accessible, and rich with insight. They’re based on her own journey of hardship and triumph, woven together with mindfulness.

Jessie Kanzer

Jessie came to post-Cold War America as a child refugee from Russia, spent years battling a debilitating eating disorder and depression, and always struggled to find her true place. Then, she discovered the healing power of the Tao Teo Ching—a simple philosophy from 6th century B.C. China—and she slowly learned how to rebuild herself and her life.In Don’t Just Sit There, Do NOTHING Jessie shares verses from the Tao, followed by sharp observations and anecdotes from her life that give the teachings of Lao Tzu applicability to contemporary times. Each chapter concludes with a “Do Your Tao” section that offers an actionable step, leaving the reader with a sense of grounding and fluidity.

“The Tao Te Ching constantly urges us to shift our way of seeing things, ‘See with original purity, embrace with original simplicity; reduce what you have, decrease what you want.’ This call to minimalism starts within—it is a simplification of our frantic energy, a re-focusing, which, ironically, makes it much easier to get what we want,” Jessie states. “Because when you shift the inside, the outside begins to match it.”

INSIGHTS:

• Jessie is a mom, immigrant, former bulimic, and sexual assault survivor who discovered the healing power of the Tao Te Ching, an ancient philosophy that helped her reclaim her power.
• Jessie now uses the Tao to teach people how to do less and find joy and ease in everyday life. She reminds us that it’s okay to stop, to just be, to Do Nothing. That’s where healing and inspiration reside.
• Parenting Tips: Hold yourself back from controlling and from taking sides; learn to let go as a form of true love.
• Relationship Tips: Find your center, value yourself, do not chase the adulation of others or give your power away in the pursuit of love; shift the energy of your relationship away from tit-for-tat; by freeing your partner, you free yourself.
• Chapters Include: “Success Sucks (Sometimes),” “F*ck This, I’m Water,” “I Love You, I Not Love You,” “The Tao of Babushka,” and “Mystics Wear Leggings”         

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jessie was born in the Soviet Union as Asya Bronfman—a descendant of Holocaust survivors living in a communal apartment with four families, one toilet, and a rickety old bathtub in the middle of the kitchen. Her family sought asylum in the U.S. in 1989.

As an 8-year-old refugee who only spoke Russian, Jessie (or “Asya” then) yearned to fit in. She changed her name and much about herself. Later though, she experienced depression, an eating disorder, and all sorts of existential problems. She pursued Hollywood fame, men, and the American Dream, but always fell short. Until she stopped.

With the help of the Tao Te Ching she rediscovered herself and her innate power, and she learned to chill. Her book, Don’t Just Sit There, DO NOTHING, will help others do the same.

She considers herself an expert in—you guessed it—Doing Nothing.

ENDORSEMENTS:

“An honest, magnificent journey of courage and insight. The unveiling of light in a way that illuminates the light in each of us. I think you will find a hero in this book. And that hero is you.”

— Laura Day, New York Times Bestselling Author of Practical Intuition and The Circle

“Jessie Asya Kanzer’s book is witty, wise, and wonderful. Don’t just sit there, READ IT!”

—Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, author of Happier and Being Happy

“She’s at once frank, funny, poignant. I laughed out loud and nodded in agreement as I wiped away a tear.”

—Jen Pastiloff, author of the national bestseller On Being Human

“Don’t Just Sit There, DO NOTHING covers the spectrum of human emotion — Jessie writes so honestly about experiences which all of us can relate to. Plus, she delves into the ancient wisdom of the Tao Te Ching that shows us how to let go of resentments, of the past, of the “what-ifs” and the “should’ves.” She takes us through her painful, hilarious, miraculous journey, shining light on our own. She shares the epiphanies that have changed her life and that can change ours too. She pieces together fun and humor (celebrity run-ins, hollywood sets) with darker subjects (her immigration, eating disorder, date rape) much like life itself does. Get ready for a ride!”

— Karen Salmansohn, multi-bestselling author and award-winning designer

“Jessie Asya Kanzer is like a taoist Anne Lamott, and she’s written a practical and actionable guide.”

—Joel Fotinos, Vice-President and Editorial Director, St. Martin’s Essentials

“Jessie Kanzer’s book, as well as her personal story, are inspiring, insightful and beautifully written. For anyone looking to connect more to their higher self, I highly recommend reading this!”

—Serena Dyer Pisoni, author of The Knowing and Don’t Die With Your Music Still In You

“Jessie Kanzer’s refreshing voice carries a clarity and candidness that pulls you in, that makes room for the unseen magic in life as it unfolds.”

—Erin Khar, Managing Editor at Ravishly, author of Strung Out

​​”Jessie Kanzer shares funny, frank and engaging stories of her exile from the Soviet Union, finding spirituality, serenity and love as an American wife and mom.”

—Susan Shapiro, bestselling author of Unhooked and The Forgiveness Tour

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