Natural Superwoman: The Survival Guide for Women Who Have Too Much to Do

Rating:
Summary: Natural Superwoman
Review: Simply divine! Reading the book was as much of a healing process as an education.

Rating:
Summary: A Gentle Reminder
Review: This book didn't impart any great wisdom, nor did it give me the answer to the mystery of life. However, it provided -- in one gloriously illustrated and simply written volume -- a gentle reminder for how I want to live my life: gracious, mindful, natural and simple.

I was already familiar with much of the material, but it was nice to be reminded of it... how to eat "properly," basic yoga poses, practical advice for communication and relationships, beauty from the kitchen, facials, steams, pedicures, home crafts... there was even a section on how to save you sanity by deletating chores in your house -- and a bit of very useful advice on how to get your spouse to contribute his fair share.

I keep this book on my coffee table and page through it when I'm feeling depressed or stressed out. It never fails to remind me of how simple it is to attain happiness.

Rating:
Summary: Disregarded fundamental writing rule: Respect Your Reader
Review: This book really had potential. The photos are gorgeous; so's the book design. And the idea of a survival guide for women with too much to do is appealing.

However, the first problem emerged when Richardson's instructions for "simplifying" my home and office space seemed so major and difficult that they contributed more to overload than to a solution.

But what really annoyed me was her gratuitious put-downs of New Age, twice during the 56 pages I read before turning on my computer in disgust to write this review.

Did I miss something, or isn't the whole intent of this book to provide a holistic, balanced, better life? In short, New Age (except for the spiritual component, which the author doesn't seem deeply interested in). How ironic/short-sighted, then, for her to describe the lifestyle and belief system of readers like me as:

"naricissistic, intellectually vapid eclectic quick-fixes", "shallow" etc.

Funny, I thought one of the fundamental rules of writing was "Respect your reader."