A book review worth paying attention to because there is an assignment at the end.

Every so often I am asked to review books here on Kazoofus. Despite the fact that I love to write, I do not love to read. So I usually tell people that I'd rather not receive their book for review.

Recently I received an email from a publisher that was a wee tiny bit eye catching though. The publicity department had sent me an email asking me to read:

Put Your Big Girl Panties On and Deal With It...
(the no-nonsense guide to getting what you want)
by Roz Van Meter

How exactly am I supposed to say NO to a book with a title like that!?!?!?!

I received the book in the mail and the first thing I did was read the back page about the author. I think I rolled my eyes when I read marriage counselor and yawned when I read "Life Coach" in her biography because everybody thinks they are a life coach. I decided to cut to the chase and started reading the book.

I regret to inform you that my yawn and eye roll were totally premature.

Roz Van Meter is DAMN COOL PEOPLE.

From Chapter One: Women Rule!

"I love women.

Oh, I'm crazy about men too, but there is nothing like a woman who has stormed through her own personal deliverance with guts and gusto and lived to tell the tale to others.

As I think back to some of the women I've counseled through the years and have come to know deeply, I'm still amazed at their courage and creativity.

Some of them are now in their seventies. Others are just starting out. We all have one thing in common: we became fiercely determined to get custody of ourselves."

Do you SEE why I loved her so quickly!?!?

What woman on this planet hasn't at one point or another had to reclaim custody of herself? Be it a bad job situation that needed to be straightened out or a terrible relationship we needed to either salvage or leave behind. It could have been something major or something minor, the size of the event doesn't matter. What matters is women...ALL WOMEN...need to get custody of themselves at least once in their lives.

And to do it, we must be fierce and determined and unrelenting about our mission.

Roz Van Meter GETS that.

To say that I love this book is an understatement. I want to take this book on a vacation with me, myself and I and I want to study it and actually act on all of the ideas that it presented to me or that I came up with from reading the book.

The book is inspiring which is a subject that I always tend to enjoy. But unlike most inspirational books that solely focus' on getting you to where you need to be, Roz also points out that where you are at this exact moment in time, isn't total rubbish either.

Even the finest silver needs to be polished now and again.

I could seriously go on and on about this book but I want you to read it and love it for yourself. I don't want to tell you everything but I will tell you one of my favorite things in the book is Chapter Two: A Loving Letter.

The chapter is wonderful but the key part of the chapter is that at one point, when she was torn between needing to wear her big girl panties and wanting to play around in her little girl britches, she wrote herself a letter that was only to be opened and read on a very bad day.

"In case of depression, break seal."

She wrote herself a loving letter to remind herself that she can get through anything. She will always support herself and so will those around her that care about her.

Her letter was short but powerful and best of all - her letter worked. She broke that seal when depression set in and was reminded that she had been through tough times before. She could get through this too.

I'll close this review with an assignment for myself that I hope you will assign to yourself.

I'm going to write myself a loving letter. One that reminds me of my good traits, happy times, and how I triumphed over challenges in the past. I'm also going to include in my letter to myself tips for getting through those dumpy, slumpy times. What have I done before that worked to cure those moody blues?

If you want to read a book from a woman that GETS it you really need to read this book. She is sharp and witty and she doesn't offer up an ounce of fluffy bullshit anywhere in the book. She is real, she is honest and she is an author I will seek out again and again when I am looking for books.