Eat Mangoes Naked: Finding Pleasure Everywhere

by SARK

This book is your traveling pleasure companion. I want to remind you to seek out pleasure and lightly scoop it up!
It is also a guide to finding pleasure in all of the difficult places: during illness, at the periodontist, facing our aging and mortality...
I share my explorations into pleasure, and the places I get lost.
Let's magnify our pleasures together, no matter what else is happening in our lives.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Inspirational, Art, Humor, Psychology, Spirituality

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 2, 2001

About the author

SARK (a.k.a. Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) is an American author and illustrator of self-help books. Five of her sixteen books have been national bestsellers, and she has sold more than two million copies of her books.

Reviews

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book back in the summer of 2001. It is a good reminder that life is too short and we should find pleasure in all we do.

I especially liked this piece of advice ... if you are about to do something, rather than looking forward to having "a good time" (because this can cause us pressure or struggle), look forward to just having "a time". This will allow our actual experience to occur and we'll be open and accepting to receive it.

[Allyson Bright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really wanted to give this one 6 stars. So many wonderful things to think about, ponder, and let soak in. Reading this book brought me so much joy and the hope of more joy to come.

[Jared Della Rocca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine Chicken Soup for the Soul, stripped of its stories, just leaving you with the positive messages, and then written in crayon with pictures. And instead of getting the book from your parents after you've been dumped, you get it from your best friend because it's a Wednesday and your best friend is awesome like that. This is a really awesome book, and I almost called it uplifting but that sounded too "Chicken Soupy" and it's more just a fun book to read and make you happy. If you've ever got 10 minutes on a rainy day, just open this book to any page and watch the sun come out.

[Astral Foxx · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love starting the year with a SARK book. It’s the medicine I need.

[Mikaela OBarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The church says: The body is a sin.
Science says: The body is a machine.
Advertising says: The body is a business.
The body says: I am a fiesta.”
Eduardo Galeano

[Jenn Kurrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

#37/2016 ... I really need to meet this woman! Thankfully she lives in the Bay Area so I may have a shot. To say she is the most positive person would likely be an understatement, by the way she does share her own challenges and troubles, but she seems to find a way to the joy in it. It certainly makes you think about approaching or being in situations and how you can choose to react. The book is in no way tradition in its type, layout or design and you almost feel as though you've illicitly stumbled across someone's happiness journal that you shouldn't look at but can't help yourself. A quick read and an enlightening way to look at life.

[Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a friend who also has CPTSD. She said it helped her and recommended I read it. I loved the paperback cover, but when I cracked it open I closed it the first time. This book has very nontraditional font. It's all handwritten and some parts are in weird colors.

Eventually, I opened it up again and decided I would treat it like a letter written from a penapl - I've read all sorts of handwriting over the past year of letter exchanges. I'm glad I did read it.

This book is whimsical and full of personal stories that illustrate points. I loved that it didn't give a bullet list of do this or do that. It showed how the author experienced life leaving you free to take what you would from it. There are a few helpful journal style exercises to be done right inside the book.

I will be reading more by this author. I'll just have to take it slow, because the font still annoys me a tadbit. lol

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eat Mangoes Naked.

First of all, my life is--most fundamentally considered--nothing but an ode to the mango, to any one of which I could hymn, while reasonably sober: Desnuda eres tan simple como una de tus manos or Desnuda eres azul como la noche en Cuba. (Some blue mangos of Cuban lineage do grow hands--at certain hours.)

However, on the one hand, from a strictly sober and logical point of view, I have real problems with this title. First, I prefer to spell the plural mangos, without the e, if only in opposition to Our Most Merciful and Divine Leader, Dan Quayle. In addition, although a ripe mango beckons the hands--which crave to cup the fruit tenderly, feeling into its curvatures--the fruit shares its hues with poison oak, and is in the same plant family. Contact with mango skin can leave one with that itchy twitchy feeling. Does one really want--for the sake of one moment of sweet and wet abandon--terminal dermatitis?

On the other hand, so to speak, I love mangos more than people--or even cows--especially on weekends. In Vera Cruz, when a bunch of blokes espy an especially and jucily wild woman, they will exclaim, more or less in unison, "Que mango!" (What a mango!).

And, they are right. The beauty and pleasures of being with a studding or even a stunning woman can almost approximate those of courting a most succulent mango.

So, my advice is: ski-rew logic.

And while we're on the subject of Mexican botanical trivia, nudity, mangos, polymorphous pleasures, passion, and prudence, don't forget: the preventative against pregnancy is not nopalitos but no palitos.

Leas con Diosa, and don't forget, there exist countless philosophies, ways, or Taos concerned with how to actually savor a mango, not unlike Taoist schools of penning verse:

The New Delhi, or Swaggering-Abandon School.

Downing ten thousand fruits can't be forbidden--
She takes in all the great treasure of mango groves.
Arising from the Way, bringing back ch'i.
Residing in the attainment, she becomes wildly free.
A wind streams down from the heavens,
Mountains over the ocean, a vast blue-grey.
When her pure force is full,
Ten thousand admirers constellate right around her.
She summons sun, moon, and stars to bow before her.

According to the Doggie Doctrine.

Brimming full, the flowing juices,
Succulent and shifting, the Ancient Formlessness.
The more you go along with it,
The more you understand truly.
If there is some resemblence of shape,
The grasping hand has already missed it.

In the Madhyamika (Middle-Way) or Emptiness Manner.

The greatest functioning extends outward;
The genuine form is inwardly full.
Reverting to the empty brings one into the undifferentiated;
It contains the full complement of all things
Stretching all the way across the void:
Pale and billowing rainclouds;
Long winds in the empty vastness.
It passes over beyond the images
And attains the center of the ring.
Maintaining it is not forcing;
Bringing it never ends.

In the Jesus Genre.

The man of wonder rides the pure,
In his hand he holds a lotus;
He drifts on through unfathomed aeons,
In murky expanses, bare of his traces.
The moon emerges in the eastern Dipper,
And a good wind follows it.
The Mountain is emerald green this night,
And he hears the sound of a clear bell.
In air he stands long in spiritual simplicity,
All limits and boundaries lightly passed.
The Sage-King is in his solitude:
Noble and unique--those mysterious principles he reveres.

The Mixed Method.

Set spirit in motion as through the whirlpool,
Set ch'i in motion as though in a rainbow:
A thousand yards down in the gorges
Are roiling waters, speeding clouds, and continuous winds.
Drink of the pure, feed on the forceful,
Store up plainness, and hold to the center.
It is figured by the sturdiness of Heaven's motions:
This is known as "retaining the potent."
Stand together with Heaven and Earth,
Sharing spirit's transformations.
Look to make it actual,
And guide it on all the way to the end.

The Natural Mode.

It's what you can bend down and pick up--
It's not to be taken from any of your neighbors.
Go off, together with the Way,
And with a touch of the hand, an summertime forms.
It is as if coming upon a secret orchard,
As if looking upon the renewal of the year.
One does not take by force whtat the genuine provides.
What is attained willfully easily becomes bankrupt.
A recluse is the deserted mountains
Stops by a stream and picks wild fruits.
As it may, his heart will be enlightened--
The Potter's Wheel of Heaven goes on and on forever.

The Latino Logic.

Desnuda eres tan simple como una de tus manos,
Lisa, terrestre, mínima, redonda, transparente,
Tienes líneas de luna, caminos de manzana,
Desnuda eres delgada como el trigo desnudo.

Desnuda eres azul como la noche en Cuba,
Tienes enredaderas y estrellas en el pelo,
Desnuda eres enorme y amarilla
Como el verano en una iglesia de oro.

Desnuda eres pequeña como una de tus uñas,
Curva, sutil, rosada hasta que nace el día
Y te metes en el subterráneo del mundo

Como en un largo túnel de trajes y trabajos:
Tu claridad se apaga, se viste, se deshoja
Y otra vez vuelve a ser una mano desnuda.

~ Pablo Neruda

[Tiffany DuBeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing piece of work by SARK. Truly in love with her books, her art, her mind and her soul which she pours into the pages in such a way that makes you really marvel at how beautiful life can really be. Uniquely constructed and beautifully bound, Eat Mangoes Naked is a book that will surely lure you out of dark corners and into warm sunshine- and SARK has a beautiful way of turning you around to say, 'See that line on the grass? Where the shadow meets the light? You are not bound by that line.' Eat Mangoes Naked is a must-read for anyone and everyone. Even if you're not suffering to any extent. It's a remarkably decorated book celebrating the wonders and pleasures of life. It is a re-reader for sure!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my second time reading this book and it was just as fun as the first. The book is handwritten and full of drawings, as if you've found a colorful journal from a very charming and silly person. SARK encourages us to approach life as an explorer, finding pleasure and ease in all kinds of situations. While reading, I noticed myself seeking out more fun and presence in my routine. Definitely recommend, especially for someone looking for a pick me up!

[Jason Prodoehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book. Hand written, colorful is how it looks. Her words are so inspiring and freeing. This is really a balm for my eyes and soul. What a beautiful book. I've read this book a few times, and in bits and pieces over the years since it came out. This is a guide to finding pleasure in the every day and in difficult places too. Beautiful. Just beautiful.

[Keisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion this is a must read for every woman, especially one's that have been through trauma.

Why is it instinctual to look at pleasure as bad or dirty? Aren't we supposed to live a full & pleasurable life through everything we do? Thank you, SARK, for making this more obvious to me and for granting me permission. 💝

[TC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading these reminded me of myself when I was younger. We had a similiar creative style too. ;) Maybe that is why an old gf said I should read her work. Almost 25yrs later.... I love them! Id love to pass these on to someone... but off to the second hand store they go hoping they make it into the right hands.

[Liana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent and original book! I loved reading it. It helped me to have a new view on life. I now hope to find pleasure in everything and seek out new ways to enjoy my life. Great read, I definitely suggest it!

[Dominique · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book offered some interesting insights, however I found the constant referral to herself as Sark, and how amazed people were to find out she was Sark, really obnoxious!

[Jenell Klinedinst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book love the resources.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

SARK has become an important person in my life. This book is joy!

[Savannah Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sark is a joy to read and this book is no different.

[Paige Doherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

an excellent easy read with lovely illustrations, a reminder to find pleasure in joy and pain

[Marley Scheld · Rating 4 out of 5]

one day i want to write a book like this even though i already do every day in my journal

[Megan Penfold · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book that brought little tears to my eyes

[Josephine]

I got because of the title. There is interesting stuff, but I found the handwriting hard to read.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read with some good suggestions.

[Dara K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent self help book about freedom and self expression....accepting self as you are without any reservations!

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and good

[Reilly Barbour · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 stars

[Orchid · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is like sitting next to an older "free spirited" person in a cafe who starts rambelling on about their life and illuminations without waiting for any response or interaction from you. It would be less obnoxious if it occasionally mentioned other people, like her friends, family, their stories, quotes and insights but no...this book is a long ode to the word "I".

The advice and insights itself aren't so bad, but tend towards the "mystical woo woo" side, e.g. saying she needed to "trust the universe"....er, "the universe" gave us Ebola, tsunamis, global famine, and centuries of war and genocide. I'm not sure how she sees this as a sign of benevolent good will. I'm guessing "the universe" is really a euphemism for god though, but I repeat my above statement.

All in all, I have to say the content seemed like a weaker version of better and more well written books (which she actually cites throughout the book) and frankly stuff I learned from the spiritual side of yoga, all of which are less annoying. Another annoyance is the fact it's hand written, making it harder to read. I have a feeling it was done this way because the content wasn't strong enough to read without multicolored marker pens and sort of average illustrations alongside them. Let's be honest: we all have a creative friend who doodles a LOT better than this stuff, so the art is really not a unique selling point.

I would recommend instead "extreme self care". It's targeted to the same "sleep is for the weak" demographic (of which I am a reformed member of) and is written with a lot less "woo" and in a less self absorbed way. "The Happiness Project" is another recommendation that I much preferred.

[Megan Palasik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book with my book club. I will admit that I would not have chosen this book on my own. I love to read, but self-help/books about how to improve your life (happiness, organization, etc.) are not usually something I choose.

I had never read a book by SARK before and was a little unsure about a book all written by hand with colorful marker pages thrown in. But, as with most things, I got used to it and ended up kind of liking it.

This book is all about finding pleasure in everything. Not just for people who may feel pleasure-less or for others who may be looking to put more pleasure in their lives. This book is for everyone! Because who would turn down more pleasure, honestly?

I read this book in chunks. It's not really meant to be read all at once, and it's probably the kind of book that every time you go back and read it you get something more out of it. SARK writes in a way that seems like she could connect to anyone. She is very honest about herself and her fears and hesitant situations in life are things that anyone can relate to if you think about it. She shares personal stories of pleasure that are everyday kind of situations. She also draws little pictures/figures throughout the book which I find cute and endearing.

I would recommend this to anyone; honestly. Just read it, try it out; try something new. It won't take you long to get through and if you don't like it, no harm done. But if you do, then you may be finding more pleasure in your life.

[Marissa Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't help but take utter joy in the jovial and effusive nature of SARK and her writing. One cannot be a cynic when reading anything by SARK (or at least they'd have to try pretty hard.) Her books have child-like loveliness to them without being patronizing or insipid. After meeting her in person at a writing workshop, I can safely say this woman, despite her wandering style, is a completely down-to-earth and soulful person. I read this book while suffering through a bout of mono and can attest to the power of its uplifting message.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book that I could see buying to give away since it's inspirational and has lots of lists of other books and websites that readers will enjoy along with text entered in creative ways. I can't quite put my finger on the exact place where I first read about this book. I have a feeling it was in one of my newly discovered crafting magazines having to do with paper crafts, scrapbook or card creating. But it was fun and I stayed up late reading through it because it was one of those types of books. I could actually read it again, to be honest!