“Lamps Without Shades is a delight to read, the rollicking, tender, outrageous story of one man’s search for love — and himself. Moreno has a knack for being in the right place at the right time, following his divine whim as a celebrated yoga teacher and performer in experimental theater, and shares stories of chance encounters with cultural icons (Joni Mitchell, Tom Ford, et al.), falling in and out of love, practicing with spiritual masters, discovering his innate balance. Warm, irreverent, and self-deprecating, it’s a book that leaves you with hope and good feeling.”

—Mark Matousek, author of Sex Death Enlightenment

“Lamps Without Shades is a book about chance, pattern-making, and the friction between those forces—the point of contact where an artistic life sparks. For David E Moreno, that process enfolds others: it moves through dance studios, yoga classes, fire ceremonies, concert halls, and a line of muses, from lovers to artists. What does it mean to be, as Joni Mitchell sings, unfettered and alive? This vital, electric story pulses with that question.”

—Paul Lisicky, author of Song So Wild and Blue: A Life with the Music of Joni Mitchell

“In Lamps Without Shades, Moreno transcends convention over and over again, in his life and his storytelling. From the LA art scene of his twenties to his beautiful relationship in his sixties, this is an inspiring life told with gorgeous intensity.”

—Jon Roemer, Outpost19

"The title alone tells us Moreno is a brilliant writer—unfiltered, honest, giving off the quality of light that readers, and the world, need.”

—Angie Alban, author of The Happiness Tree

“Lamps Without Shades reveals Moreno while grounding us in a world that has largely passed us by, as any good work of memory should. The writing is poetic but never overwritten. I loved the poems punctuating the narrative with moments of clarity and concision. Moreno’s use of detail throughout shows a true writerly command of the form. Bravo!”

—Michael Wade Simpson, CultureVulture

“Moreno draws us in with a voice that is intimate, humorous, insightful, and genuine, masterfully jumping around in time, deepening our understanding of his search for meaning and connection, and the zeitgeist that shaped the pivotal decades from 1960 to the present day. Lamps without Shades is sensual and mystical, rooted in evocative detail yet expanding to cosmic reflection. I loved the poetry.”

—Leslie Larson, author of Breaking Out of Bedlam

“I loved and hated the imagery of Moreno’s burial, and then he transformed it into some of the most beautiful images I have ever seen... Near the very end, I just started crying, and I don’t even understand why—but he did something powerful. Moreno has a voice that can share beauty with people who can’t see it.”

— Karen Cadenhead, Ed.D., Director of Art Therapy, Children’s Medical Center

“Photographer Lisette Model taught her pupil Diane Arbus that ‘The more specific you are the more general it will be,’ which is also true of the best memoirs. In his vivid and poetic memoir Lamps Without Shades, David E Moreno is very specific about his serendipitous life (creative, spiritual, and otherwise), and yet this book will have a kind of universal appeal and resonance for many readers.”

—Robin Lippincott, author of Blue Territory: A Meditation on the Life and Art of Joan Mitchell

“Moreno’s memoir shows how art can be a salvation, salve, and journey into self-discovery.  Through poetry and prose, he captures a coming of age from childhood shame and fear into self-acceptance.  Guided by visionary artists personally and through their work, his career and life are shaped by how movement and performance can unlock buried truths. Both deeply personal and culturally evocative, Lamps without Shades illuminates the ways mentors and art can help us reimagine ourselves beyond the limitations of our past.”

—Steven Reigns, First Poet Laureate of West Hollywood, author of A Quilt for David and Outliving Michael.