Summer Book Review #9: Working Identity

Driving yesterday I heard an NPR story on WCAI, the Cape & The Islands (CAI) radio.  They broadcast a show entitled “The Moth”  which features audio storybooks of everyday Americans.  Their first story really gripped me:  an  autobiography by Aimee Mullins, a young women who lost both of her legs at birth and has used prosthetic limbs ever since.

Ms. Mullins told a truly amazing story about her life and her various opportunities to touch the lives of others.   One was a little girl who also had an artificial limb.  At the time Aimee first met her she had been struggling.  Kind of ‘just’ getting along –  setting no great expectations for herself while locked inside the world’s limited view of her capabilities.  Aimee inspired her to re-frame her expectations for herself and for those around her.

At a chance meeting a year or two later Continue reading…

Summer Book Review #8: Necessary Dreams

A dear friend from business school stopped by to see me one day at the office.  I knew something was up because she was in town from Colorado and REALLY wanted to get together.  It was one of those weeks where I had kid’s events, work commitments, or other stuff every night.   So, the only time we could pull off was lunch in my not-so-lovely office cafeteria.

Looking back – I am so happy that she stopped by.  At lunch she shared with me an experience that had deeply affected her.  Just days before she had attended a HBS event, a healthcare symposium, during which students and alumni get together to discuss emerging trends and career issues.   At the event’s luncheon she sat  with two soon-to-be graduating students who happened to be incredibly gifted ladies.  Prior to attending HBS one had been an industrial engineer, the other a NASA scientist.   Despite these credentials their conversation with my friend was astonishing. Continue reading…

Summer Book Review #7: Steering by Starlight

I asked my eight year old for the name of the diagram that has two overlapping circles.  She was hanging on some climbing structure in flip-flops and a bathing suit.  I should have been alarmed.   Instead I was trying to think  of an interesting angle to use to tell you about this week’s book while my two children enjoyed a few moments of their own.

She quickly chirped “Venn diagram” while still scaling the loosely joined swinging steps.  My read this week was really a Venn-test.  Continue reading…

Summer Book Review #6: Off-Ramps and On-Ramps

In April I joined a dozen women from my Harvard Business School class for dinner at a Mexican food restaurant.  Given that we graduated twenty years ago, we spent the 1st hour of dinner re-acquainting ourselves with one another.  We quickly fell into formal – or not so formal – introductions.    I  was so surprised by how few of my peers were working in a full-time traditional career – 2 out of 12.    A few more had worked a more traditional career path prior to having children but many had never worked a full-time career due to marriage, children, divorce, requirements of a spouse’s job, parental care, etc., etc.  Most chose part-time work at some point. Only three of us, including yours truly, worked full-time after having children.

One woman described her vocational interests as “design & architecture.”  It sounded exciting and creative but I remember being profoundly sad Continue reading…

Summer Book Review #5: It’s Up to the Women!

Last night I happened to catch the tail end of “Invictus,” a 2009 movie starring Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, a real-life member of South Africa’s rugby team who’s summoned by Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) to rally support in the country and unite the racial divide.  At one point Mandela is speaking about inspiration with Matt Damon’s character and says (and I’m paraphrasing), “how do you get people to be better than they think they can be?”  In the movie Mandela was seeking to inspire folks to simply forgive after decades of horrid, tortuous behavior that divided South Africa.  Decades earlier a first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, penned “It’s Up To The Women,” daring to inspire the ladies of our country at a particularly horrid time for our nation; the Great Depression.  Both leaders relied on inspiration to get folks to accomplish more than they thought possible.  My summary is the same for transition; we simply need a bit of inspiration. Continue reading…

Summer Book Review #4: Back on the Career Track

It’s funny how obscure comments stick in your mind ready to be instantly recalled with a connection – however remote that connection maybe.   I remember standing in my pediatrician’s office when my daughter, who is turning eight next week, was about ten weeks old.   I was talking with my newest friend, the nurse practitioner, who had seen us regularly over the past two months.  We were talking about my upcoming return to work which by the way I was looking forward to.  She made a pithy comment that jumped into my mind this week as I read, Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-home Moms Who Want to Return to Work, by Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin.   Bernie Lane, the nurse practitioner said, “a happy mother is a happy baby.”  Truth be told I got more out of my conversation with Bernie than from my read of “Back on the Career Track.”

From my perspective Fishman Cohen and Steir Rabin attempted to achieve two objectives in this book:  Continue reading…

Summer Book Review #3: The Art of Possibility

I have a friend who uses “barriers” as her most common accoutrement.  Maybe you know someone life this?  She can’t because… her allergy shots don’t allow her to or she has to finish something important.   The litany of reasons grows increasingly serious and worrisome by the year.  I couldn’t help but think of her as I read The Art of Possibility:  Transforming Professional and Personal Life  by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.       The authors challenge readers to re-frame  our view of “life” so that both real and imagined barriers no longer impede us but give way to energy and focus.  The decade old best seller is nothing short of inspirational — a great beach read! Continue reading…

Summer Book Review #2: Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes

Have you ever had an obscure fact stick with you for a long time?  Here is one that has followed me…  In my late twenties I read Golda Meir’s autobiography, My Life.   Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel from 1969-1974, was a school teacher until the age of 43 (or thereabouts).  There it is.  Isn’t that incredible?  At the time she was only the 3rd woman on the planet to serve as a Prime Minister.  Her mid-life transition has always stuck with me.  Now, I am even more fascinated by it after reading Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, by William Bridges. Continue reading…

Summer Book Review #1: Glass Ceilings & 100 Hour Couples

In my last post Camouflage, transition and summer plans, I announced that I’d review a “transition” book every week for the summer.  With the weather at 95+ degrees these past few days, I’ve decided to start my summer project a bit early.

The first book I read, Glass Ceilings & 100 Hour Couples: What the Opt-out phenomenon can teach us about work and family, is a compelling research- heavy book on the challenges faced by women who try to Continue reading…