Permission Slips: Every Woman's Guide to Giving Herself a Break [NOOK Book]

Permission Slips

I have watched Sherri Shepherd a few times on "The View" and was curious about her book.
This book is a great, quick and easy read. It is part autobiography and part comedy.
Shepherd gives her views on lots of things in this book. She tells about her life and tribulations and is not holding back.
Shepherd's faith in God is very clear in this book. She tells how God influences every moment of her life and how God always comes through for her.
I think every woman reading her book will be able to relate in one way or the other.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

GIVE ME A BREAK

PERMISSION SLIPS
Every Woman's Guide to Giving Herself a Break
Sherri Shepherd
Grand Central Publishing
$24.99 - Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-446-54742-0
Reviewer: Annie Slessman

Okay, I admit it.I may be the only person alive who has not watched an episode of The View. I didn't know the name, Sherri Shepherd or how famous she was for her comedy abilities. However, I will say that after reading her new book, PERMISSION SLIPS, Every Woman's Guide to Giving Herself a Break, I am a fan.

Providing a guide for women who take their lives to seriously, Sherri Shepherd, has written a book that every woman who takes her life and her responsibilities so seriously that she cannot give herself a break occasionally, needs to read.

Shepherd takes readers through her life to date and the problems, challenges and experiences that have made her the person she is today. Each segment offers not only some good advice, but laughs as well. The ability to laugh at yourself is probably one of the greatest Permission Slips that anyone - woman or man - can give themselves in life. And, laughing keeps the definition lines in your face at a minimum. Frown lines really do make deeper grooves in your face than laugh lines.

Because of a new career, I had to read this book one segment at a time. Each segment gave me a reason to laugh, reflect and yes, give myself a Permission Slip to not stay awake at night in order to finish this book. Sherri would be there for me tomorrow with a laugh and some good advice in hand. Thanks, Sherri; it has truly been a pleasure spending some time with you.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Every womens guide to giving yourself a break with Permission Slips

When I started reading this I found myself getting lost in the character. I could see meself in some of her situations and wondered who I could give this book too so we could talk about some of the slips we had given ourselves. Even though she is single and I am married, I still found similarities and actions that I could see myself doing.

Author is not perfect, and that's OK

Sherri Shepherd has overcome much in her life and risen to celebrity against a lot of odds. Yet she seems down-to-earth and grateful for everything she has in her autobiography "Permission Slips: Every Woman's Guide to Giving Herself a Break."
Shepherd begins her book by explaining that she came across a notepad of permission slips a while back, and remembered how good it felt when you could present a slip to an authority figure and you were automatically excused. She decided to purchase an entire box of these slips and write them to herself excusing anything she needed/wanted excused. This, she said, was cutting herself a break when she was being too hard on herself.
I imagine most people, especially those who have children, could benefit from this idea.
Shepherd talks quite a bit about her failed marriage and her husband's affair with, "the white J-Lo" and how both she and the other woman were pregnant by her husband at the same time. She and her husband tried for years to get pregnant, eventually becoming successful through in-vitro fertilization, how she ended up losing one of her twin fetuses; then in the end another woman accidentally gets pregnant by her husband. Yet, the forgiving and self-admitted mistake-making person she is, Shepherd ended up staying with her husband after she knew all this, and allowing the other woman's child and her own child to grow up together as siblings until she moved away to New York to join "The View."
Starting out in Hollywood after her family moved there from Chicago, Shepherd began her career as a legal secretary. She and her girlfriends used to go out to comedy clubs, and Shepherd would think to herself, "I am funnier than these comedians." One time she got up and tried it out. And she bombed.
She tried again, and she was successful. And her career took off from there. Not quickly, but it took off. For many years she was worked comedy clubs and night and worked as a legal secretary during the day. She began getting noticed and eventually began guesting on talk shows. Eventually, Barbara Walters took notice of her and invited her to be a co-host on "The View."
Shepherd admits she often times feels inadequate up against her other co-hosts and that she has to study for hours every night so she feels informed enough to do the show. She started out doing the quirky, funny segments, but Barbara has increasingly been inviting her to also do some serious segments, which is allowing Shepherd to grow and become more confident.
This book seems heartfelt and honest. Shepherd seems like the girl next door who could end up being your best friend. I am a little sick of reading about celebrity dirty laundry, but it's my own fault for picking up this book. Otherwise, Shepherd comes across as a likeable single mom who admits to making mistakes and yearns for the best for her son­-just like every other mother in the world.

Good Job Sherri!

This book made me look at Sherri Shepherd in a different light. I had no idea about her life struggles, but I was glad she was completely open in the book. I felt as if we were having a conversation. This is the first time that I literally laughed out loud while reading a non-fiction book.

Great, feel good fun read!

Sherri is hilarious! I loved getting to know her better, especially after watching her new show on Lifetime. She is an inspiration to keep dreaming and to not take yourself too seriously.

Ms. Shepherd gives a gift of inspiration with a smile on every page.

This is a funny, original,thought provoking,enlightening read.

A Funny and Thought Provoking Memoir!

Permission Slips by Sherri Shepherd is a refreshingly honest and uplifting memoir! Sandwiched between the laughs Shepherd's memoir delivers a message that women need to hear. Namely, that it is okay to make mistakes and to continue to make mistakes.

Why are women singled out for this message? Because as Shepherd cracks:

I never met a man who obsessed about being a perfect husband, but I know plenty of women who want to be perfect wives.

It ain't happening. We women have start accepting that no matter what we do, someone's always gonna be cranky about it. Instead of feeling guilty, let's make it okay.

Amen!

Reading Permission Slips was like hanging out with a wise, candid, and hysterical best friend. She'll hook you from page 23 when she proclaims:

I've made every mistake that a decent person can make, and I'm still here, still learning. Probably like you, I could have given up about a million times by now, but I didn't. Hopefully, I've got at least forty more years worth of gaffes and mistakes to make. I can't wait!

You have permission to laugh, cry, nod in agreement, and enjoy mistake-maker-in-chief Sherri Shepherd's Permission Slips.



Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (October 5, 2009), 288 pages
Review Copy Provided Courtesy of Hachette Book Group.

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