Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently
by Marcus Buckingham
So when I got this book I was skeptical just from the cover. Shallow I know, but I am always leery about books on woman empowerment written by men. The sparkly-eyed man on the cover with the title of his book in bright pink did not attract me. The other reason for my skepticism was that although Thomas Nelson is a Christian book publisher, this is not a Christian book.
As I opened the book I realize why any publisher would fight to publish this man’s book. Mr. Buckingham has been on Oprah. I had my own “Ah-ha” moment right then as to why this was a Thomas Nelson book.
Synopsis
It starts with a story about Gloria Steinem being quoted as saying “You can have it all.” Ms. Steinem replied that she had never said that. She had said that men and society should not dictate what women can achieve. So the book progresses from there. The author presents various statistics which are quite enlightening. He has a background with the Gallup organization so these can be taken seriously. In the chapter “Of Choice and Men” he proposes the idea that women are now afflicted with too much choice. He goes on to explain finding our “strong moments” and how to “Catch and Cradle” them.
Included is “The Strong Life Test”, which comes after the first 7 chapters of foundational material. This test helps you find out what type of work environment is right for you as an individual. I am an Advisor/creator.
The book then is summed up by explaining that we should “Strive for Imbalance”. It also gives “Tactics” for dealing with different life scenarios. These tactics are presented in the form of questions and answers such as : How do I find my passion? How do we divide and conquer? What do I do if Motherhood weakens me?
Strengths
The Strong Life test is well conceived and if the reader is honest with herself I think she will find it beneficial. If you are unsure of what you should be doing with your life it is helpful to see in black and white some of your options.
I also appreciate how the author handled the concerns of real women. Too often in Christian women self-help books it seems to be a message of “Get back to your kitchen and rejoice”. I don’t think it is that simple for women. He does an excellent job of contrasting two women Charlie and Anna. He gives a case study for each woman and shows how woman had focus and determination and the other does not. One woman ends up happy and the other is miserable. It was sobering to think about how one’s choices can so completely affect the course of our lives.
The Downside
This book is not written from a Christian perspective. It is inherently selfish. Me, Me, Me. The happiness and successful women he is talking about are those who are only worried about themselves.
This book does not have a message of how our lives can honor our Creator. How we can serve the Lord and our fellow man. Without this worldview I cannot endorse this book as a good resource for Christian women. It is the opposite of God’s plan for people to serve themselves. We should love God and others. That should be the measure of our happiness and success.
Conclusion
I wish I could tell you that at the end of this book I was less skeptical. Unfortuately this book lived up to my expectations, which isn’t saying much.
A far better book, other than the Bible, for finding happiness and success in my opinion would beDesiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
