Rating: 
Summary: Ten Things I Wish I'd Known...
Review: I had seen Maria Shriver on television before and had seen her news stories over the years, but I really didn't know what she was all about until I read this book. I think most people are under the impression that because she came from a prominent family and later married a movie star, she didn't have to go through the same struggles you and I have had to in the real world. This book wonderfully puts it all into perspective. Her insights demonstrate that she is a real person with fears, hopes and dreams, and has experienced set-backs, failures and successes just as you and I have. Although she doesn't really talk about anything new or innovative, her points are a common sense approach to coping with what life deals you and what you get out of it. She was also realistic in that she came right out to say that no, you can't do or achieve everything; we're not superpeople and we have to accept our limitations. I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and I recommend it highly.
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Summary: Great role model for today's working mom!
Review: I have always been facinated with all things Kennedy. Like most, I assumed that Maria Shriver rose to her position because of who she was, or what family she was from. WRONG! Maria Shriver shows that in this book that she was raised with a sense of honor and dignity that is rare. I wish that I had a mother like she has, I lost mine when I was too young. This book shows what good parenting can do for a person. This book, while common sense (which is the least common thing!) contained many things that I wish I had known before starting my life's journey. I plan on passing this down to my children. Hopefully, it will instill in them a bit of the grace and style that Maria has! If the networks don't give Maria her own show, on her own terms they are missing out! What a gift she is! Buy this book, it may just make you a better person, I hope it did that for me. I will think twice before doing something that is in the ethicial grey area!
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Summary: When the student is ready, the teacher will come...
Review: Maria Shriver has written a winner! However, her worldly wisdom will only be understood by the insightful who are ready to take a long, hard look at themselves and be honest about the choices they've made in their lives. If, at this time in your life, you are one of those insightful people then RUN (don't walk) OUT AND GET THIS BOOK! Maria Shriver selflessly shares great wisdom in these pages that can provide tremendous inspiration to make changes leading to a happier, healthier life. I am grateful that we have such a marvelous role model out there for young women today. Three cheers for Maria!
Rating: 
Summary: Common Sense You Already Know!
Review: This book is full of common sense you already know. Let's see... is it important to be a mother? Well, yeah... who wouldn't argue with that? If someone doesn't already have common sense, then they are not magically going to get it from reading this book. Don't bother buying it for your niece or grandaughter about to graduate from college as they will easily see through this drivel. If you have a brain and use it regularly then you have no need for this book. I would be seriously insulted if someone gave it to me as a gift as it would imply that I lacked all common sense! This is one book to avoid...
Rating:
Summary: Way to go, Maria!
Review: Reading this book made me want to e-mail Maria and ask her how she got to be so wise at such a young age--wait, I KNOW how she got that way--I read the book!Maria writes with wit and charmingly self-deprecating humor on the "ups" we've seen of her life and the "downs" we haven't in terms of lessons she's learned in the process. A fast and enjoyable read, you probably won't be able to put it down and yes, once is not enough. Her insights are so right-on I can see this book as a pick-me-up on depressing days and inspiration even on my "up" days. Faster- paced and of more universal appeal than my previous favorite in this area: "Plain and Simple" by Sue Bender. The timing couldn't be better for this sure-fire "mortarboard-stuffer". Way to go, Maria!
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Summary: Real World? When has she been there?
Review: Why does America continue to buy such drival? I read this book in 22 minutes flat - borrowed from a friend. I think it took her that long to write it. Why do Hollywood types continue to think they can pen works of art? What she would have liked to have known before going into the real world? When HAS she gone into the real world? This is a person who has ridden the coattails of her family name, and now her husband. Her "journalist" work is as passionless as this worthless book.
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Summary: Excellent life "guard"/guide!
Review: In this book, Arnold Schwarzenegger's precious wife puts things into focus. She's blunt and direct, explaining that success is not that easy to come by and success is never a freebee. The book contains lots of valuable lessons on life and it's a life guide and to many perhaps even a life "guard" so to speak. Mrs. Shriver is honest about her own challenges to live up to the measurements of her parents and now being a parent and so forth. In short: it's an excellent book. Another book that I highly recommend as it deals bluntly with key issues in life and is extremely helpful, is Dietmar Scherf's "I Love Me: Avoiding and Overcoming Depression."
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Summary: Practical Yet Fun Read
Review: This book is interesting, easy to read yet has some practical advice for young people getting ready to leave school and enter the real world, although it's a fun book for anyone to read. Maria keeps each subject interesting while getting the reader to think of their own personal feelings and goals. It's a perfect book to give that college graduate this summer. I definitely recommend it!
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Summary: A Surprisingly WISE and DELIGHTFUL Find...
Review: Let me say upfront that none of my friends would even remotely describe me as a Maria Shriver fan. In fact, I have never watched any of her CBS or NBC News appearances, and in the periphery of my mind, associated her mainly with the words, "Kennedy" and "Hasta la vista, Schwarzenegger". Given the fact that I rarely read celebrity memoirs and biographies, it's practically a miracle that I picked up the book to browse in the first place! But there I was, JUST about to check out of the store, when for some strange reason I felt compelled to pick up this book. As is my habit, I first read the back and then glanced at the introduction. Before I knew it, I was halfway through the intro, halfway to the check-out counter and absolutely refusing to put the book down!...I was hooked. And due entirely to this book, I am NOW a Maria Shriver fan. "Ten Things I Wish I'd Known--Before I Went Out into the Real World" is witty, compelling, insightful, down-to-earth, completely readable, totally identifiable (for both genders) and doggone it--WISE! :) I found myself alternating between laughing out-loud, nodding in knowing agreement, shaking my head in disbelief and ultimately smiling with gratitude and admiration for the little gift of life and love this book really is. Whether you're a Maria Shriver fan or not (at least to begin with), this short little book is worth not only picking up but reading. Based on a commencement speech she recently gave, I believe I could have (and *would* have) read it in one sitting (were it not for the incessant tugging on the arm of my own 3 little ones!) At the end, she says she'll get back to us in a decade or so with an update. I can't wait! And next time it won't have to grab me on my way out the door--I'll be the first in line, book in hand...and halfway through the introduction I'm sure. :)
Rating:
Summary: Honest, humorous, and right-on!
Review: A terrific little book, I didn't want it to end! The honesty of it rings true, and it made me laugh out loud many times! She writes that there is no better way to gain respect, even self respect, than through hard work and honesty, and being willing to learn from others. She tells the reader that there are consequences for behaviors, that those who behave in an unethical manner, don't last long in their careers. She talks openly of the times when she wasn't proud of herself for tactics she used in getting interviews, and realized she needed to change, in order to be the kind of person she wanted to be, one who didn't succeed by running down her competitors. This book is full of lessons that most of us learn the hard way, which is sometimes the best way to learn, as wisdom is gained and we work towards bettering ourselves, and enriching others. The book says she "has her commas in the following order," and lists being a mother as first. That is one of the few things I disagreed with in this book, as I believe a spouse comes first. This is one book I wish I, too, had had many years ago, as the lessons it contains are timeless, and, in a sense, "old-fashioned." It's just good common sense and respect for self and others. It's written in a manner that captures the attention, and it is a book that one will turn to again and again.
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