With humor and compassion Tara takes you through some rough times and gives the reader some short cuts so they don’t have to go the long way. There are a few pearls of wisdom but by the time I reached part 3, on relationships, I decided I didn’t need advice on how to not settle for just any dude slash you’re worth more than that slash don’t try to change people it just won’t work.

I downloaded this to read on the train but abandoned it about 2 chapters in, and looked out of the window instead.Not all of the advice and rituals are applicable to everyone in their current stage of life, but there is something for everyone somewhere within the pages.

Writing a book isn’t a personal goal of mine but this “book” shows me that anyone can publish a “book” , even if they don’t bother much with the writing part. As a current VP at Comedy Central, I think I would have been much more interested in a job-related book from her - one that explains her career steps in-depth, because I feel like that sort of information would have been much more valuable, and I probably would have taken that more seriously. When someone says they went to a really nice private school, followed by Brown University, and then flippantly states how "poor" they were, it irks me to no end.It’s authentic without being preachy, and while I listened to it, I’m also so glad to have a hard copy so I can underline. Today, Tara Schuster is a happy and fulfilled “self-care ninja”, and as Comedy Central's Vice President of Talent and Development, is by all outward appearances (and by her own account) living a healthy and successful life. No one knew that her road to adulthood had been paved with depression, anxiety, and shame, owing in large part to her minimally parented upbringing. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.

I can only guess that the editor who okayed this has the flu and has some kind of impaired judgement or something. I loved to read about the personal life of very successful people and how they learned to manage the balance of their personal and professional life. It covers matters such as lessening negative self-talk, seizing opportunities, avoiding leaning on substances, best handling relationships, introducing an exercise program into your life - a wide variety of subjects, at least one of which is destined to speak to a problem that the reader faces.

And the language she implores, like the overuse of the word "fuck" (which I realize is so ~*trendy*~ in self-help books now), and "supz" instead of super, "v" for very, was just a bit much for me. That small, pleasurable thing that makes you feel like you are treating yourself – do not deprive yourself of this.

Yet: I really did find Tara Schuster to be likeable and relatable, and even if she seemed to have gotten most of her best ideas from other sources (which she notes), I can still see the value in this book for the right reader. Her plays have been performed in The New York International Fringe Festival and her writing has appeared in The New Yorker and Forbes online. So, even though I’ve had ups and downs with my own mom, it made me appreciate that we do have a good, if not always easy, relationship. I originally bought it because I loved the title and I struggle with getting myself nice things because deep down, I kind of feel like I don't deserve them.I chose this book for an annual challenge - the May selection was a book with a flower in the title.