Wander Woman
How High-Achieving Women Find Contentment and Direction
By: Marcia Reynolds
Published: June 2010
Format: Paperback, 240 pages
ISBN-13: 9781605093512
ISBN-10: 1605093513
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
"Women still face inequities in the workplace and difficulties juggling responsibilities. Yet something has changed in the women themselves, the way they approach life, the way they work, the way they relentlessly show up even when they aren't sure what they are fighting for", writes Master Certified Coach and PsyD, organizational psychologist, and executive coach Marcia Reynolds in her insightful and revolutionary book Wander Woman: How High-Achieving Women Find Contentment and Direction. The author describes the difficulty of high performing women to find contentment and a sense of purpose, and proposes a transformation from restlessness to a life of meaning shared with other women.
Marcia Reynolds goes far beyond the usual women's self help and career guide books, and delves into the root causes of women's loss of direction in the modern corporation. Instead of working to change the organization, women have instead focused on personal change and seeking of balance. Faced with glass ceilings and sidetracked career paths, women have opted to move to different jobs either within the same company, or another one entirely. Another frequent choice for these frustrated, high achieving women has been entrepreneurship. Marcia Reynolds calls these women seeking meaning "wander women", traveling a lonely road to find purpose in their lives beyond the usual bromides of balance and simplistic steps to internal bliss. The author proposes both a personal transformation for women, but also connecting with and sharing experiences and purpose with other "wander women" as well.
Marcia Reynolds (photo left) begins the book with a self assessment for women, as they determine how much different they are from previous generations of women. With the exercises and checklists, a woman can discover how much of the "wander woman" archetype she possesses, and how much it influences her life choices. The guide helps women to live with and embrace this wandering tendency as part of the transformational process. Understanding where a woman is now, and how much she is influenced by her perfectionist tendencies, help her to break free from those former constraints. By following the exercises and vision routines presented in the book, a woman can begin the journey toward her true purpose. Once a woman understands her inner direction, she is then able to navigate her way through the corporate lattice with clear plans and intention. Women are then encouraged by the author to reach out to and connect with other "wander women" for support and sharing of purpose and direction.
For me, the power of the book is how Marcia Reynolds helps women shift their awareness and consider a world of other possibilities in their lives and careers. The book is revolutionary in its approach to why women feel so discontented and restless. In place of the usual cliches, the author presents interview based research with real women, and combines that survey analysis with the latest psychological breakthroughs. The result is a solid thesis into the cause of women's lack of connectedness, and a program of transformational exercises for women to find their inner purpose. Along with the powerful introspective assessment and exercises, Marcia Reynolds offers assistance and advice for connecting with other "wander women". Through those connections, women can help one another break free of their perfectionism, and make the successful transition to their true selves. With this book as a guide, women can become contented and achieve inner peace and purpose.
I highly recommend the groundbreaking and essential book Wander Woman: How High-Achieving Women Find Contentment and Direction by Marcia Reynolds, to any woman who feels a loss of contentedness, and has become a "wander woman", seeking her own purpose in a world where high achieving women are unable to achieve happiness and personal fulfillment. When a woman achieves her own personal awareness of purpose, there is no turning back to what was. Her transformation will be permanent and her personal growth will continue to build upon that transformation in the future as well.
Read the soon to be recognized as classic book Wander Woman: How High-Achieving Women Find Contentment and Direction by Marcia Reynolds, and transform yourself as a woman seeking purpose to one of contentment and direction. Say goodbye to a life as a "wander woman" and discover your true path in life.
No comments:
Post a Comment