A guide that will appeal to readers seeking success that feels like ease, not exhaustion.
Ehlers, the founder and president of social media consultancy The Evoke Agency, presents a self-help book that encourages women to reconsider what “winning” means in the context of a full life.
The author begins this book by reflecting on a period of personal and professional exhaustion in which she felt emotionally depleted and trapped in survival mode. In a book focused on gratitude-centered journaling and self-reflection, she develops the central argument that women deserve to define success on their own terms, rather than through constant productivity or bowing to others’ expectations. Drawing on challenging personal experiences—such as losing her job right after telling her boss she was pregnant, navigating financial instability, and coping with childhood pressure to continually win—she confronts traditional assumptions about women’s roles in work, caregiving, and leadership. Across 17 chapters, the book reframes “niceness” not as weakness or passivity, but as a “trojan horse of competence.” The author situates her argument within the broader history of men diminishing women’s accomplishments, while encouraging readers to symbolically “tear up” outdated expectations and create a new “contract” for their lives. She asserts that women don’t need to adopt aggressive, burnout-driven models of success to thrive; instead, she promotes confidence, honesty, boundaries, and authenticity as the foundations of sustainable leadership. Her book combines motivational discussions with practical strategies, including public speaking techniques, specific methods for “winning over a room,” and confidence-building exercises, among other practices. Recurring themes include rejecting hustle culture, balancing ambition with rest and play, practicing body acceptance, and taking manageable “micro risks,” such as speaking up in meetings. The conclusion effectively reiterates that fulfillment should be prioritized over overwork. Through honest reflection and actionable ideas, Ehlers opens up a conversation about ambition that feels both modern and deeply human. The book’s greatest strengths are its accessible tone, practical “micro practices,” and thoughtful critiques of burnout-centered “girlboss” culture. Although some references to manifestation and “vibrations” feel less evidence-based, the overall framework remains encouraging, practical, and grounded.
A guide that will appeal to readers seeking success that feels like ease, not exhaustion.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9798996018116
Page Count: -
Publisher: Big Circles Media, LLC
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Readers unfamiliar with the anecdotal material Greene presents may find interesting avenues to pursue, but they should...
Greene (The 33 Strategies of War, 2007, etc.) believes that genius can be learned if we pay attention and reject social conformity.
The author suggests that our emergence as a species with stereoscopic, frontal vision and sophisticated hand-eye coordination gave us an advantage over earlier humans and primates because it allowed us to contemplate a situation and ponder alternatives for action. This, along with the advantages conferred by mirror neurons, which allow us to intuit what others may be thinking, contributed to our ability to learn, pass on inventions to future generations and improve our problem-solving ability. Throughout most of human history, we were hunter-gatherers, and our brains are engineered accordingly. The author has a jaundiced view of our modern technological society, which, he writes, encourages quick, rash judgments. We fail to spend the time needed to develop thorough mastery of a subject. Greene writes that every human is “born unique,” with specific potential that we can develop if we listen to our inner voice. He offers many interesting but tendentious examples to illustrate his theory, including Einstein, Darwin, Mozart and Temple Grandin. In the case of Darwin, Greene ignores the formative intellectual influences that shaped his thought, including the discovery of geological evolution with which he was familiar before his famous voyage. The author uses Grandin's struggle to overcome autistic social handicaps as a model for the necessity for everyone to create a deceptive social mask.
Readers unfamiliar with the anecdotal material Greene presents may find interesting avenues to pursue, but they should beware of the author's quirky, sometimes misleading brush-stroke characterizations.Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-670-02496-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.
The veteran newscaster reflects on her triumphs and hardships, both professional and private.
In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Couric (b. 1957) transforms the events of her long, illustrious career into an immensely readable story—a legacy-preserving exercise, for sure, yet judiciously polished and insightful, several notches above the fray of typical celebrity memoirs. The narrative unfolds through a series of lean chapters as she recounts the many career ascendency steps that led to her massively successful run on the Today Show and comparably disappointing stints as CBS Evening News anchor, talk show host, and Yahoo’s Global News Anchor. On the personal front, the author is candid in her recollections about her midlife adventures in the dating scene and deeply sorrowful and affecting regarding the experience of losing her husband to colon cancer as well as the deaths of other beloved family members, including her sister and parents. Throughout, Couric maintains a sharp yet cool-headed perspective on the broadcast news industry and its many outsized personalities and even how her celebrated role has diminished in recent years. “It’s AN ADJUSTMENT when the white-hot spotlight moves on,” she writes. “The ego gratification of being the It girl is intoxicating (toxic being the root of the word). When that starts to fade, it takes some getting used to—at least it did for me.” Readers who can recall when network news coverage and morning shows were not only relevant, but powerfully influential forces will be particularly drawn to Couric’s insights as she tracks how the media has evolved over recent decades and reflects on the negative effects of the increasing shift away from reliable sources of informed news coverage. The author also discusses recent important cultural and social revolutions, casting light on issues of race and sexual orientation, sexism, and the predatory behavior that led to the #MeToo movement. In that vein, she expresses her disillusionment with former co-host and friend Matt Lauer.
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-53586-1
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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