In Their Shoes: Extraordinary Women Describe Their Amazing Careers [Paperback]

Deborah Reber (Author), Lisa Fyfe (Designer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 2007

FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF AMAZING WOMEN WHO HAVE THE JOBS OF YOUR DREAMS!

Find out what you really want to know about your career choices:

What will I do every day?

Will I wear Prada or Old Navy?

Play with kids on the playground, or with bigwigs in the boardroom?

Power lunch at the Ivy, or bag lunch at my desk?

What kind of education do I need?

This book is packed full of answers. "Day in the life" profiles will inspire you, while a ton of sidebars, lists, and helpful tips will get you started right away on finding the career that's right for you. Discover words of wisdom from women in the workforce, including:

• Shonda Rhimes, creator and executive producer of Grey's Anatomy, who thinks her job is like running a small country -- PAGE 2

• Susan Schulz, editor in chief of CosmoGIRL!, who compares her life to both a chess game and the prom -- PAGE 289

• U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, who says that if you're passionate about an issue, you can turn it into a career -- PAGE 283

Browse through the profiles to find the job that's right for you, or use the career chooser to narrow your search.

Packed with informative and inspirational advice from women at every stage of their careers, In Their Shoes is a must-have reference for every aspiring working girl!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 8 Up–This fun, accessible book should appeal to teens who are exploring career possibilities. Each chapter contains an interview with its subject, for example, Nancy Pearl, librarian, as well as sidebars and lists on what to do now to prepare, what the person's day is like, and a time line of how her career took shape over the years. Concrete details about the women's current lives and about how they attained their goals are included. The variety of careers is impressive, ranging from forensic scientist and sheriff to social worker and actionist–a woman who is part motivational speaker, part writer, and part actress. At the end of each chapter there is a list of complementary careers to help readers brainstorm for themselves, as well as at least one Web site for further information. Additionally, a mini-chapter on networking, stress release, and other job-related issues appears between every five chapters. Even though the subjects are all women, the material is not female-focused. A fine addition to any collection.–Carol Fazioli, Gwynedd-Mercy College, Gwynedd Valley, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Deborah Reber is an accomplished author for tweens and teens.  A former children's television executive, Deborah uses her writing, speaking, and volunteering to empower and inspire girls everywhere to live their best life.  Deborah is the author of two Simon Pulse non-fiction books: In Their Shoes and Chill. She lives in Seattle.  Please visit Deborah at www.deborahreber.com or www.smartgirlsknow.com. 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 411 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; Original edition (April 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416925783
• ISBN-13: 978-1416925781
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #820,589 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Debbie Reber hails from Reading, Pennsylvania, a city best known as the home of the 'Reading Railroad' from Monopoly and darned good pretzels.


Debbie graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Broadcast & Cable. (This was back in the stone ages when 'cable television' was a new phenomenon'it got its own major!). After graduation, she moved to NYC to make it big in the world of broadcast news, just like Holly Hunter's character in the movie by the same name. When that didn't happen, she decided to save the world instead, and produced videos, PSAs (public service announcements) and documentaries for CARE, UNICEF and the PBS show Rights & Wrongs: Human Rights Television.

While living in NYC, Debbie apparently decided that working fulltime didn't keep her busy enough, so she simultaneously attended The New School for Social Research, where she earned her MA in Media Studies, with a focus on documentary and media criticism.

With even more student loans to pay off, Debbie left the world of nonprofit and jumped into children's television, where she worked on Blue's Clues for Nickelodeon and developed original programming for Cartoon Network. It was while working at Cartoon Network that she sold her first book, Run for Your Life: A Book for Beginning Women Runners.

She loved the process of writing a book, and loved seeing her name in print even more. So in 2003, Debbie turned in the key to her corporate office and traded it in for a lime green Ikea chair, an all-in-one desk unit and a tiny corner of her den to eke out a living as a fulltime writer. She's never looked back. (Okay, there was that one time she looked back, but that was a while ago, and since then, things have been going smashingly well).

Debbie has written a number of books for teens, tweens and even preschoolers, including the new series from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, The Real Deal and more than a dozen Blue's Clues books. Her latest book, In Their Shoes: Amazing Women Describing Amazing Jobs (Simon Pulse) comes out in April 2007.

Debbie lives in Seattle with her strikingly handsome husband Derin, adorable little boy Asher and trusty, white German Shepherd, Baxter. She is a volunteer running coach with the Puget Sound chapter of Girls on the Run, and an advisory board member for the teen girl mentoring organization, WriteGirl.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, April 9, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Their Shoes: Extraordinary Women Describe Their Amazing Careers (Paperback)

In this wonderful reference guide from Deborah Reber, you can find an astounding amount of information from women across the globe in a variety of career fields. Laid out in a simple, easy-to-use and follow way, IN THEIR SHOES highlights a number of career choices, and the pertinent information you need to decide if a particular path is right for you.

Each career - from a forensic scientist to a librarian to a journalist and everything in between - is featured with the same layout.

You'll find "the facts," including what the career entails, where you can find a job in that particular field, how you go about getting that type of job, what type of money you can expect to make, the dress code for the profession, and the stress factor for that career, rated on a scale from 1 to 10.

Each career - and, in turn, each amazing woman profiled - also offers practical advice to readers interested in pursuing the same field of interest, an interview held by the author, answers to questions from teen readers, a few points of interest as to what it takes to do the job, related careers, and a timeline of the professional's life. Everything you could want, and need, to know about the women featured in IN THEIR SHOES and their chosen career is in this book.

This is the perfect guide for any girl who is ready to start deciding on what path they would like their career choice to take, and even for those who are just interested in reading about the amazing positions that are out there. With just about everything you need to make some firm decisions, IN THEIR SHOES also points readers to additional sources of information for each particular career. It also includes a career chooser, which is a checklist of job traits to help you in your quest for the perfect career, and an index that can help you find facts in a hurry.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for the Grad & Beyond!, June 2, 2007

By 

AMK - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Their Shoes: Extraordinary Women Describe Their Amazing Careers (Paperback)

I bought several copies of this book for the graduation season, the young women I gave it to absolutly love it. Having to take on so many serious life defining decisions over the last 18 months of their lives, finally here was a book that presented actual futures to them in a interesting and, most importantly, real attainable way. I now give copies to my girlfriends (35+), with more than half of us expected to change careers more than 4x in our professional life, In Their Shoes is such a great look at not what could have been but what could still be!! The book is incredibly motivating and inspiring for the girl in all of us who is still saying "what do I want to be when I grow up" no matter what age you are.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for my niece, great for me, February 29, 2008

By 

Catherine Dee "Catelouise" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Their Shoes: Extraordinary Women Describe Their Amazing Careers (Paperback)

My 11-year-old niece buried herself in this book, and it's easy to see why: it's very well written, inviting, and reader-friendly. It's full of juicy real-life, interesting info. It makes me want to experience the careers of all of the women in it, and it's sure to draw in girls of all ages. A perfect resource for your daughter, niece, or student who's brainstorming possible career paths.--Catherine Dee, author of The Girls' Book of Wisdom and other empowering books for girls