Being Perfect

by Anna Quindlen

Overview

Anna Quindlen offers deep truths from her life to motivate and inspire you to become your most authentic self.
 
“Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion. . . . What is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.”

In Being Perfect, Anna Quindlen shares wisdom that, perhaps without knowing it, you have longed to hear: about “the perfection trap,” the price you pay when you become ensnared in it, and the key to setting yourself free. Quindlen believes that when your success looks good to the world but doesn’t feel good in your heart, it isn’t success at all.

She asks you to set aside your friends’ advice, what your family and co-workers demand, and what society expects, and look at the choices you make every day. When you ask yourself why you are making them, Quindlen encourages you to give this answer: For me. “Because they are what I want, or wish for. Because they reflect who and what I am. . . . That way lies dancing to the melodies spun out by your own heart.”

At the core of this beautiful book lies the secret of authentic success, the inspiration to embrace your own uniqueness and live the life that is undeniably your own, rich in fulfillment and meaning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780307482129
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/21/2009
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	180,706
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Anna Quindlen is a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists. She is the author of many novels: Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, Blessings, Rise and Shine, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, and Miller’s Valley. Her memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, published in 2012, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her book A Short Guide to a Happy Life has sold more than a million copies. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear.

Hometown:

New York, New York

Date of Birth:

July 8, 1952

Place of Birth:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Education:

B.A., Barnard College, 1974

Website:

http://annaquindlen.net/

Editorial Reviews

A brief meditation on resisting the desire to be so perfect. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Adult/High School-In this brief treatise, Quindlen attempts to deter readers from continually seeking perfection, which is by definition unoriginal and stereotypical. She believes that everyone needs to find her (or his, though the general tone and the illustrations seem to focus on female needs) own true self, especially for those moments when there is nothing else left. She describes herself as having been a true perfectionist throughout high school. After a semester or so at Barnard, she realized that she would never be the prettiest, smartest, or "est" anything, but she could try to find out who she was and not be afraid to try new and unusual routes through life. This realization was more freeing than she expected, and she encourages readers, young and older alike, to do the same. The book reads much like a commencement address, but both size and subject matter should appeal to teens looking out on the landscape of their lives. It is also a good example of an essay or short biographical account for those studying such literary forms.-Susan H. Woodcock, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal