EPIC!

An empowerment guide for women in the workplace.

In her nonfiction debut, Luce, a speaker and executive coach, starts by invoking the familiar image of a caterpillar’s metamorphosis. She quickly connects this image to the idea that one should always reach for the most “epic” version of oneself, rather than a lesser version imposed by “patriarchal norms.” She asserts that there are three reasons why many women are comfortable reaching for more power in their lives. The first two many readers will agree with: that women don’t like what they see of how others use power, and that both women and men can react antagonistically to women’s attempts to use it. The third, however, may strike many readers as absurd: that there are “scant role models” of women using power “gracefully, graciously, and generously.” Still, Luce strikes a sympathetic and hugely encouraging tone throughout, constantly reminding readers that most of the narratives that govern their lives—such as imposter syndrome and the idea that “when you win, others lose”—are only fictions, and within their power to change. The book’s overall aim is to help women define their ambitions and use strategies to overcome obstacles to fulfilling them; one such strategy, for instance, is to replace “negative core beliefs” with positive ones, or “superpowers.” Many of the book’s urgings are motivational, if somewhat vague. However, the brightness of her convictions is likely to inspire many readers: “We can choose to discover meaning for ourselves in whatever life throws at us and, at the same time, create meaning for others,” she writes. “We can own that life is happening ‘for us,’ not ‘to us.’ ”

An uplifting, if slightly uneven, series of encouragements for making the most of one’s life.