What’s it really like to own the company...work from home...occupy cubicle-land? On March 27, 2007, over 500 women kept a diary of their workday-including drama and laugh-out-loud moments-for Water Cooler Diaries. Featuring 35 full-day accounts and hundreds of highlights, you’ll go behind the scenes with a hot new fashion designer, a McDonald’s manager, a trauma surgeon, a mechanic, a life coach, a boxing promoter. More well-known contributors include actress Angie Everhart, celebrity chef Sara Moulton, race-car driver Sara Fisher, and “Go Fug Yourself” blogger Heather Cocks, all inviting us to work a day in their shoes.
Water Cooler Diaries
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
On March 27, 2007, hundreds of women across the country created an on-the-job day diary, chronicling the joys, triumphs, frustrations and hilarities of their chosen or given professions for this entertaining collection that shows women in every career under the sun. The 35 full-length stories, and many more highlights and excerpts, afford readers a glimpse into worlds as diverse as the women who work in them: orthopedic surgeon, stripper/magician, school custodian, Avon lady, prison intake counselor, voice-over actor, life coach, boxing promoter, among others. Most of the women are unknown—blogger Heather Cocks and chef Sara Moulton are among the few familiar names—and this glimpse into their lives is both fascinating and eye-opening. Unsurprisingly, women in every field and income bracket struggle in their own ways between career and family, but the grace and humor with which they do it is fresh and compelling. The wide scope should satisfy women readers casting a wide career net or anyone curious about the lives of women at work. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Take one day—in this case, March 27, 2007—and ask 515 women to chronicle their thoughts and activities. This “day in the life” (third in a series from Cole and Rakhra) features what could be called “average” occupations— including stay-at-home mom, librarian, teacher—as well as the more glamorous work, from fashion designer and Lake Wobegon actor to a boxing promoter and, yes, the World’s Sexiest Magician. In all, 35 full-day accounts are included. Skimming through this collection is not a good idea. There are sentences that will make readers stop, laugh, tear up, nod, and otherwise savor common and out-of-the-ordinary experiences. Judging from these excerpts, who could resist uncovering the rest of the story? “She was a poster child for why you don’t wear six-inch heels and get drunk at a post–St. Patrick’s Day party.” Or “I love the satisfaction of the home being our canvas.” And “So can a person ever be a failure if they are doing what they love?” Worth rereading. --Barbara Jacobs
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More About the Author
Joni B. Cole is the author of five books, and a frequent speaker at writing conferences around the country. The recipient of a 2011 Pushcart-Prize nomination, her books include: Another Bad-Dog Book: Tales of Life, Love, and Neurotic Human Behavior (memoir/humor essays); Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive ("I can't imagine a better guide to [writing's] rewards and perils than this fine book," American Book Review); and the three volume "This Day" series, including Water Cooler Diaries: Women across America Share Their Day at Work ("both fascinating and eye-opening," Publisher's Weekly). Joni runs the Writer's Center of White River Junction, Vermont, and is a regular blogger on ThirdAge.com. For more information, visit her author website at www.jonibcole.com
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Fireside
Format:Paperback
These women share their joys, worries, triumphs, fears, hopes and dreams...a day in their lives...from mundane to magnificent. It's a book you don't have to read from cover to cover in one sitting, but it's hard to put down once you start. And although it sounds hokey, I laughed, I cried and I related to every one of these women on some level.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Water Cooler Diaries: Women Across America Share Their Day at Work
I have been taking my time reading this book.
Why?
Because I am savoring every entry.
Water Cooler Diaries provides a sneak peek behind the private lives of women; What we do on a typical day and what we think.
The reader discovers that when the "typical working day" is explored in detail, there is humor, frustrations and a myriad of emotions that are evoked by exploring the inner thoughts women have throughout the day.
And in reading each woman's day diary entries, we look into the mirror and see a reflection of ourselves in the surgeon, the mechanic, the blogger, the mother, the janitor and so many more.
Well, okay... this reader didn't have that much in common with the sexy magician and her albino snake... but, boy haven't you ever wondered what it must be like to have a job like that? Never thought about the fact that she also has to clean up snake poop out of water bowls every morning.
There are 35 full day entries with hundreds of excerpts from women from all walks of life.
ENJOY!
I have been taking my time reading this book.
Why?
Because I am savoring every entry.
Water Cooler Diaries provides a sneak peek behind the private lives of women; What we do on a typical day and what we think.
The reader discovers that when the "typical working day" is explored in detail, there is humor, frustrations and a myriad of emotions that are evoked by exploring the inner thoughts women have throughout the day.
And in reading each woman's day diary entries, we look into the mirror and see a reflection of ourselves in the surgeon, the mechanic, the blogger, the mother, the janitor and so many more.
Well, okay... this reader didn't have that much in common with the sexy magician and her albino snake... but, boy haven't you ever wondered what it must be like to have a job like that? Never thought about the fact that she also has to clean up snake poop out of water bowls every morning.
There are 35 full day entries with hundreds of excerpts from women from all walks of life.
ENJOY!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Jean
Format:Paperback
This book is great! Every woman's story is fascinating. It's also loaded with hysterical excerpts from womens' lives. Full of insight, tenderness, comedy, and just plain truth.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Real women, real lives
Fascinating day diaries from a REAL cross-section of American women! It's so interesting to me to read the mundane aspects of everyday life - the things we all do to get through... Read more
Published on July 5, 2009 by A. Drugay
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!
Excellent!! I really enjoyed this book. It's wonderful for any woman trying to follow her own path and provides that "we're all in this together" mentality. Read more
Published on December 6, 2008 by TranquilDiva
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Book
This book is hard to put down!
- Laugh out loud moments is the truth.
- Amazed at those who were brave enough to be honest & wrote about their boss from 'he... Read more
- Laugh out loud moments is the truth.
- Amazed at those who were brave enough to be honest & wrote about their boss from 'he... Read more
Published on March 2, 2008 by C. McNally
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love this book!
. . . and I'm not just saying that because I wrote the last chapter. (smile)
These witty and often moving diary entries from women of all walks of life offer a broad... Read more
These witty and often moving diary entries from women of all walks of life offer a broad... Read more
Published on March 1, 2008 by EF
