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FURTHER READING
The Female Brain - Louann Brizendine, M.D
ISBN 978-0-593-05807-7 (2006)
When I first started to read this book, I was worried that somehow it would bring up all the old jokes about mad mother-in-laws, the weaker sex and “it’s that time of the month”. What Dr Brizendine illustrates brilliantly is that while we have to accept, as females, we have a 24-day cycle of hormones that have a huge influence on our thoughts, both negative and positive, knowing this gives women much more power than they realise.
As a reader, you soon begin to identify where you are in this life-cycle and how to deal with it. When women feel challenged on those days when nothing seems quite right, the knowledge that it is “just one of those days, it’ll soon pass” empowers and gives insights to the best ways to interact with others at that time. It enables women to be able to take the pressure off themselves and their foot off the accelerator pedal when they need to, and the ability to do the reverse when they feel supercharged. It even gets you thinking about how you might organise some regular commitments and demands, so that you can interact with others in a more positive and proactive manner.
Dr Brizendine is honest and courageous enough to give example from her own life. This is a book well worth reading for both men and women.
What Men Don’t Tell Woman About Business - Christopher V. Flett
ISBN 978-0-470-14508-1 (2008)
I bought this book because of the title. I’d always wondered if there were any unspoken secrets that us girls needed to know. I have to say, I am very glad I was born female. It’s exhausting having to live with all the defined rules and pecking order. One of the best bits was understanding how men “deep six” their opponents. Gosh boys are so insecure!
The only irritation I had with this book was the overtones of smugness. To me, Mr Flett still seemed to be strongly bound up in alpha male characteristics, even though he told us he had had a huge conversion on the road to his Damascus. I understand from the book that he now mentors and coaching women on how to deal with “men like he used to be”. Trust a man to be able to make a business telling others what to do and how to do it.
I still think this is a book that is well worth reading for both men and women. There are some good insights for readers.
Below are publications that Nicola Stevens & Associates have read and have recommended to clients and colleagues . The opinions expressed by the writers of these critiques and testimonials are based on their own personal views and impressions.
This book was recommended to me and was incredibly insightful, particularly when applying the views and ideas within my industry of acting and performance. As an actor, I have to be at the top of my game, with energy and focus night after night, and I found it fascinating to read and understand how your mind is working, why it’s working such a way and how you can deal with it. It also helped me approach other roles and characters in much more depth than I would have done before.
