Customer Reviews

Don't Shoot! I'm Just the Avon Lady!

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have followed Birdie Jaworski's "Beauty Dish" Blog for years, ever since she started selling Avon and got a call from Catholic Charities that the daughter she gave up for adoption wanted to meet her. This book is the real life story of Birdie meeting one crazy southern California Avon customer after another while she decides whether or not to meet her now-adult daughter.

The book is laugh-out-loud funny! Birdie sells Avon to a woman who wants to buy anti-wrinkle cream for her pet monkey. She comes up with outrageous schemes for pushing Avon - from attending "Ladies' Night" at the strip club to holding yard sales where her two little boys try to help her unload bottles of bubble bath to selling Avon to men during a bowling league championship.

As an Avon Lady, I can't tell you how many times I had to call up my upline and read her sections out of the book while laughing hysterically. I actually found some amazing sales tips in the stories, too!

Birdie's descriptions will make you believe you are right next to her selling Avon. Her heartfelt account of having a baby as a teenager and giving her up for adoption will bring tears to your eyes. Birdie has a lot of guts writing such a dear and personal book. At the end of the book, I really felt as if I knew Birdie in person, and I felt ready to tackle my Avon business with renevewed vigor. Birdie really gets across the point that Avon can help you meet new friends and help you overcome your own fears.

This isn't a book just for Avon ladies. It's a book for any human who is struggling to make his or her way in the world with a difficult job. It's a book that will make you laugh and cry.

You will want to find all of Birdie's other stories on the internet after reading this book! I really recommend that you do that. Her stories about her boys' love of Star Trek are also really funny and touching. I also love her stories about New Mexico, where she now lives.

How absolutely hilarious! Who knew that selling Avon could provide for such gut-busting adventures? I generally do not read comedic-type books-- I'm more of a serious person by nature. But after reading a couple of excerpts from this book, I had to have it. The author's description of people and events is so vivid, so completely funny, that I felt like I was right there with her, such as during the chapter entitled: Below the belt belongs to Turkey!. And I loved the story of the "Bunion Lady". I won't say anymore, so as not to give anything away. There is also a touching, sensitive side to this book, wherein the author details how her past revisits her. But I can't stress how incredibly funny this book is, from beginning to end. If you love to laugh, then this is a must-read.

I have not laughed this loud, while reading a book, in years! Very funny accounts of this woman's tales of trying to sell Avon products in hilarious ways.

I am a businessman, but this book was referred to me by an Avon lady who just could not stop telling me funny stories from it. I figured I would read it and see what happened...It was great! I enjoyed every minute.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is in sales, or anyone who enjoys funny books! Have fun!

I don't normally read author's memoirs, but I became curious about Birdie. Birdie's book "Don't Shoot! I'm Just the Avon Lady!" is a great read and put together so well that it was like reading a story rather than her memoirs. And novel it is. She takes you from present to later in time memories and then brings you back to the present. Granted, some of her memoirs were sad, but most of them cause me to chuckle out loud which is a rarity for me. Birdie's spunk and determination has led her into situations that many of us will never experience. For instance, how many of us have opened their door, only to find a pig at the doorstep with a note telling her that the pig's name was Frankie. Frankie became in indoor pet pig and I just assume he was potty trained.

One of my favorites was when she went on an Avon call with a request for lotion. To Birdie's surprise, it was to be used on a pet monkey. "... she led him across the kitchen. ... jumped into my lap. He put long arms around my neck.. and monkey drool started to roll down..."

Another was Birdie taking Avon shampoo to a new client, only to find herself shampooing a bald lady's cat.

Oh, and the Avon foam she sprayed on a rat that was about to attack her.

You'll laugh, you'll cry -- I guarantee you'll want to hug the author! I bought this book first in hardback and savored every single page. Am ordering a bunch more copies in paperback to give as holiday gifts to friends who are sure to enjoy this poignant mix of real-life hardship and hilarity. I have never before read an author so able to convey unquenchable optimism and zest for life on every page as Ms. Jaworski. Without a doubt this is a "stay up late to finish and then call a friend to say 'You have to read this!' book. But you'd better buy two if you plan to share because you won't want to give your own copy away!

DON'T SHOOT! I'M JUST THE AVON LADY! is HILARIOUS! A woman is trying to sell Avon products and encounters real life situations that anyone in sales can relate to. The book is so well written and funny...very memorable. I totally recommend this book to anyone who wants a good laugh. Brilliant Read. Still LMAO....

I found this book simply hilarious and loved hearing about the antics of the Avon lady. There is a story to be found in all her everyday life with the customers and her children. This is a laugh out loud book that should be on your shopping list for Christmas!

I downloaded the kindle version of this book and wasn't going to read it right away, but I kept wondering whether the Avon Lady was going to get shot! So I started it last night and couldn't put my iPad down until I finished the whole book. From the beginning, the book kept my attention. Now, I don't sell Avon, I don't buy Avon, and I don't know anyone who does. That doesn't matter. This is a book about LIFE and about making the best decisions you can, moment to moment. The stories in the book are laugh-out-loud funny. You won't be able to help yourself! I actually scared my cat when I started guffawing during the bowling alley story. Imagine selling Avon to a bunch of smelling men at a bowling alley! You can't, right? Well, Birdie couldn't either, and that's where the humor begins but doesn't end.

The backbone of the book is more serious than the funny customers. I don't want to give it away, but you will be blown away by the gorgeous language and sensitivity with which the topic is treated. This is not your average "chick lit" book. This is a book about real, messy life. And I mean that in the best way.

Read this book. You will look at your life differently and wonder about your own choices and whether you are woman enough or man enough to walk into a strip club and hawk Skin So Soft.

I'm still laughing.

I recently signed up with Avon as a rep. My mother sold Avon when I was a child. I have fond memories of playing with her extra samples, and carbon receipt booklets.

This is a memoir written buy a woman living and selling Avon in Southern California, and the variety of "characters" she meets in her Avon selling adventures.

I would like to mention, for anyone who might be confused about it, that Avon does NOT test its products on animals. If it did, I wouldn't be selling the products. I'm vegetarian, not vegan, so I can't vouch for whether the products contain no animal by-products, but I can say with absolute certainty that they do not TEST on animals.

I don't recall ever reading anything by Birdie prior to this book. I am a native San Diegan and was able to relate to the descriptions she gave of the area.

There were plenty of parts where I couldn't help but laugh out loud! I did find it hard to follow in some parts, when Birdie traveled back in time to explain certain events of her past, but was able to make sense the more I read.

If you are looking for a story to read and would like to be entertained, I recommend this book. It is not a romance, drama, thriller, mystery, etc - it is just a book to read, enjoy, and be thankful that I'm NOT an Avon lady!