Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #445939 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 104 pages

Customer Reviews

Ten Things I Wish I'd Known Too!
Maria Shriver's memoirs are like a ride on the bumper cars at a carnival. Masses of bright lights, bursts of speed, bangs galore & laughter. Sometimes I wondered if she ever slept during her 20s; then I remembered my 20s & chuckled.

None of what Maria Shriver writes about: be it finding your passion or seeing the consequences of your behavior; be it working with people or learning from menial work; from being willing to fail to burying superwoman; from mixing marriage, motherhood & careers; from being financially independent to learning to laugh - none of it is exotic or unknown, however, it is Maria Shriver's unique & lively delivery that makes it all special & emminently readable.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit with this articulate & funny woman & by the end of the book I was laughing a lot more & feeling supercharged!

Excellent reading, wish I could have read this 20 years ago
Maria hits the spot so many times throughout this book. She is absolutely correct in her thoughts about marriage, children and work. If I had read this book 20 years ago when I was 16 I would have had a better outlook and probably changed a few things then that would have changed the way I did things. All my children will read this book before they leave school.

A Realistic, Helpful Personal Memoir for the New Graduate
You've just graduated, and want to make your mark on the world. What should you focus on? Maria Shriver has excellent ideas for you!

Most young people desperately want to carve their own niche and acquire competence in the 20s. In the course of doing that, they can fall into stalled thinking about living up to others' expectations and achieving perfection. This book provides a good antidote to those misconceptions. The advice encourages humility and realism. Because Maria Shriver is a celebrity who works in television, this message will seem relevant to even the most starstruck.

The weakness of the book is that she only tells her own story, but doesn't use anyone else as an example. We all can learn from everyone we meet, so Ms. Shriver does fall down in this one department. Her memoir focuses on her life from the end of college to now.

She comes across as well-meaning in this book, someone who's heart is in the right place and is willing to work like a dog.

Even if you don't think you like her, take a look at the book. You can tell after a chapter or two if this is for you or not.

Of her advice lists, I thought that 'pinpoint your passion' and 'be willing to fail' were the most pertinent to young people today who are just graduating.

The reason these are important is that your passion will get you through the ups and downs in your chosen direction. Failures are your best learning experiences.

Naturally, if someone you know wants a career in television, this book also contains some useful information about what the process is like. It's more hard work than many would imagine!

Also, I suggest that you talk to some other older people to ask them what they have learned from experience. Most people do not have a glittering or greatly satisfying life by middle age. If they wanted better, where did they go wrong? You can learn a lot from other peoples' mistakes, as well.

Persistence counts for a lot!