Still on Fire

 By Renee Linnell

Pink Skeleton     2022

227 pages     Memoir

I read and reviewed Renee Linnell’s first memoir The Burn Zone in 2018 and was impressed by how she grew, following her realization that she had become embroiled in a spiritual cult. I remembered how much of an adventurer Renee Linnell was/is, and her new memoir, Still on Fire, continues her story with as much fervor as The Burn Zone held.

Linnell dedicates the book “to everyone who is tired—tired of fitting in, tired of playing small, tired of being afraid, overworked, overstressed…and tired of living a life without true joy. May you stop making excuses for why mediocrity is okay for you and take the leap into a life that you love.” She has divided the book into five parts: decisions, wild ride, spirit, love, and whole. The book ends with an epilogue that puts her philosophy of life into a nutshell. She says, “When we are handed this one life to live (this time around) why are we holding back? Why are we not creating something magnificent and truly unique to us?”

Linnell has definitely created a “truly unique” life, and Still on Fire bears witness to her uniqueness. She has had several careers, been very entrepreneurial, and started several businesses. Her newest venture appears to be a publishing company, called Pink Skeleton.

My favorite chapter concerns her visiting Buenos Aires as a tango dancer. Apparently tango is something that Linnell is an expert at, along with surfing, and meeting up with a variety of “hot” men. Of course, while in Buenos Aires, she meets a professional tango dancer at a local milonga. She had seen him before and apparently was looking for him to arrive—or hoping for him to arrive. The entire chapter is very sensual, but I loved the imagery of the dancing.

Linnell travels all over the world in Still on Fire. You will travel with her place by place,  incident after incident, all of the time learning the life lessons she, herself, has learned throughout her remarkable life. It is all very candid, and the reader is left with the impression that this wonderful woman has been open to whatever life may offer her. Would I like to have some of these adventures? For sure!

Norm Goldman has a terrific review of the book and an interview with the author on his website. Here, also, is Linnell’s website. Her newest book comes out tomorrow, August 16.