Queen of Your Own Life: The Grown-Up Woman's Guide to Claiming Happiness and Getting the Life You Deserve [Hardcover]

Cindy Ratzlaff (Author), Kathy Kinney (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 30, 2010

Discover the Seven Best Gifts You Can Give Yourself

Queen of Your Own Life is a philosophy, a decision and an invitation to happiness for women who have made the tough but rewarding journey to the midpoint in their lives. Kathy Kinney (best known as Mimi on The Drew Carey Show) and Cindy Ratzlaff (marketing genius behind the launch of The South Beach Diet) have been best friends for more than thirty years, and have helped each other navigate the ups and downs of their lives with humor and grace.

In this entertaining and inspiring book, they share the tried-and-true techniques they call "the seven best gifts a woman can give herself." They reveal how they learned to value themselves just the way they are—women in full bloom, sensual, vibrant, wise and more beautiful than ever—and they'll show you how you can, too.

With these seven gifts you'll discover how to:

• Claim your beauty and feel your power

• Clean your mental closet and find your queen voice

• Admire yourself for who you've become

• Build deep, fulfilling friendships with other women

• Establish firm boundaries that will strengthen all your relationships

• Learn the simple trick to finally being happy

• Place the crown firmly on your head

With humor, comfort and inspiration, Queen of Your Own Life offers easy step-by-step actions to blast away at the societal tall tale that young is beautiful and old is just old. If you've been feeling that the best part of your life may be behind you, then this book will prove to you just how untrue that is, and that the door to being happy is not only never closed, but just waiting for you to fling it open. Remember, you don't have to be twenty to have your whole life ahead of you. Now is the time to become Queen of Your Own Life!

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Welcome to the second half of your life, or what we believe can be the best half of your life!

Queen of Your Own Life is a philosophy, a decision and an invitation to happiness for women who have made the tough but rewarding journey to the midpoint in their lives. We're excited to be your guides on this next big adventure.

With humor and common sense we will offer you our tried-and-true actions to blast away at the societal tall tale that young is beautiful and old is just old. With our seven simple steps we will help you let go of the negative thoughts that keep you from fully admiring and accepting yourself just the way you are—a woman in full bloom, valuable, sensual, vibrant, wise and more beautiful than ever.

Every significant stage of life is marked by a celebration or ritual—birth, graduation, marriage, even death—yet we have nothing to mark the momentous accomplishment of reaching midlife. That is, unless you count the horrible tradition of over-the-hill birthday parties, complete with black balloons, coffin-shaped cakes and gift bags filled with incontinence supplies. Yuck. That's the "celebration" society sets up for women as we reach midlife? After you follow our easy, straightforward guidelines to claiming your crown, we'll help you plan one hell of a kick-ass Crowning Ceremony, filled with laughter and good friends, that will mark your transition into the glorious second half of your life.

If you have been feeling that the best part of your life is past, then this book will prove to you that there is always something more and that the door to being happy is not only never closed but is just waiting for you to fl ing it open. Remember, you don't have to be twenty to have your whole life ahead of you.

So, let's get going. It's time to become Queen of Your Own Life—if not now, when?

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (March 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373892152
• ISBN-13: 978-0373892150
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A"party favor" for mature women June 8, 2010

By Nina Abbott VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I've long lamented that as women so much of our lives is celebrated in relationship to others: weddings for marrying, showers for impending birth, mother's day to celebrate raising children. This book is solely, completely and humorously for celebrating the mature menopausal woman...the woman who at last is "queen" of her own life. And, not the "queen" who is a size 2, Botoxed, liposuctioned reality show wanna be!

While I don't believe that this book is going to rock any older woman's world, what I do hope (and suspect the authors' hope) this book will do is encourage women to celebrate themselves...not as wives, mothers or as grandmothers, but just as women who at 50 plus have lived, learned and are ready to embark upon the second half of their lives with genuine gusto.

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Every woman's little instruction book on becoming a Queen April 1, 2010

By K. Reed

Format:Hardcover

What an inspiration to all women! Queenhood is not a new concept, but a new resolution. This book is a great read, filled with funny anecdotes, encouragements and celebrations. The witty sense of humor and the ability to paint the pictures with words definitely causes some laughing spells, but make sure you have your Klenex box near buy too.I absolutely love the book and recommend it to all women without age discrimination.~Queen K

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Girlfriend to Girlfriend Guide for a Happier Life May 3, 2010

By Alisa Bowman

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

First, I get annoyed with those reviews that are all rosy and that are obviously written by friends of the author. So I'll state right up front here: I know Cindy. We once worked together. We occasionally have breakfast together. I admire her. And I bought the book because I know her.

Oh and because I turn 40 this year.

Now I could just say, "Hey this book rocks" and leave it at that. But those sorts of reviews are not helpful are they? What you really want to know is whether this book can help you, right?

Queen of Your Own Life provides a simple 7 step plan for shedding negativity and self loathing and for embracing your inner queen. The steps will help you to learn how to see yourself as the hot gift to all humanity that you really are, stop being your own worst critic, shed toxic friendships and embrace real ones that nurture and support, and to establish boundaries. Each chapter tells a story about how Cindy and her co-author Kathy Kinney learned and embraced the technique. Then each chapter gives you a simple take-home exercise. For instance, for one exercise you will look in the mirror and say an affirmation about your beauty out loud twice a day. You'll set aside 10 minutes and let your inner critic take you apart, and then you'll put that critic in her place. You'll write down what you admire in others and what you admire in yourself. You'll hold a party for yourself and you'll put a crown on your head.

Cindy and Kathy are endearing leaders who bravely talk about some of their more embarrassing moments and about the hardships they've endured. BY the end of the book, you come away feeling good about yourself and good for women everywhere. It's a woman positive book with a woman positive message, one that should have us all forming our royal courts by the end.