Taking Charge: Every Woman's Action Guide to Personal, Political & Professional Success [Paperback]

Joan Steinau Lester (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1996

Offers proven, effective strategies for every woman, whether secretary or CEO. Provides encouragement and goal-setting guidelines. Gives detailed suggestions for forming action support groups.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

How to empower women to take charge of their lives at home, in the workplace and the community is the theme of this clearly written self-help guide. Lester, executive director of Equity Institute, a non-profit think tank and leadership consulting organization, recommends a group approach, with the formation of small action teams, meeting regularly to provide a sympathetic circle of support. There are four major concepts, or highways, to be mastered on the road to success, according to Lester: getting centered, taking action, building alliances and creating a vision. Dividing each of these themes into mile markers, or chapters, Lester delivers her message of self-reliance with examples from her own and other women's lives and quotations from a veritable roll-call of feminist gurus, like Shakti Gawain to Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Each woman, we are told, has the option to sit in the driver's seat and moving ahead. At the end of every chapter there is a tool kit of exercises and suggestions for action team discussions. Lester's action team concept differs little from the feminist consciousness-raising groups of the 1970s, and her "highway to success" analogy is a tad overworked, but her book does manage to shine in its practical strategies for women to achieve recognition.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Taking Charge: Every Woman's Action Guide To Personal, Political & Professional Success is a practical book for women of all ages that offers a ten-point plan for becoming more effective in their personal, professional, and political lives. Joan Lester is a long time advocate of women's rights and offers effective strategies for individuals as well as groups, and provides encouragement and guidelines for goal setting. Whether read cover to cover, used as a workbook, or perused for specific advice or inspiration, Taking Charge is a highly useful tool for women at all stages of self development. Taking Charge is essential reading and a very valuable addition to any women's studies reading list. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Red Wheel / Weiser; First Printing edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573240524
• ISBN-13: 978-1573240529
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,071,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As a member of a biracial family, my lifelong passion is writing about "race"--how the concept ever came to be, issues of identity, justice...the whole package. All my books focus in one way or another on this immensely charged topic.

Black, White, Other is my first novel, and I loved approaching the issue from the lens of a fifteen-year-old girl, whose voice came to me quite naturally, probably from raising my own children and being close to other teens then and now. Having permission to create scenes, instead of being journalistically accurate, allowed me a fantastic freedom to explore the intricacies of family and friend dynamics playing out among people of different "races." I'm working now on two other novels, both variations on the theme I seem to have chosen as my life beat. Or perhaps it has chosen me. In any case, I feel privileged and honored to be able to practice my craft and at the same time provide healing and insight, as well as entertainment. Keep in touch!

JoanLester@JoanLester. com

Watch the video trailer for Black, White, Other on YouTube. My publishers did a terrific job. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqY069NyrAM

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exciting and Empowering Resource, June 4, 2000

By 

jeannie lindsay - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taking Charge: Every Woman's Action Guide to Personal, Political & Professional Success (Paperback)

Lester's clear thinking and writing make the work of creating an authentic life seem more joyful than daunting. She includes an abundance of specific techniques, not just for managing life but for expanding its possibilities. Lester's emphasis on developing a support system balances the complexity of seeking out allies with offering our own strengths to others - inspiring!