Maria Shriver's warmth, humor, and wisdom are evident on every page of this little book. Inspired by her commencement speech at the College of the Holy Cross, the book contains stories and insights that will be helpful, entertaining, and encouraging to graduates at every stage of life. The lessons themselves--"be willing to fail," "stand your ethical ground," "marriage is a hell of a lot of hard work"--are nothing new. What makes them interesting are the life stories that accompany them and Shriver's personable, friendly style. Reading this book feels like having a cup of coffee with a wise and funny friend. Tales of her first television experiences are surprising and hilarious, and she takes balancing motherhood and career to new levels--imagine postponing an interview with Fidel Castro to get your daughter to her first day of kindergarten! Each chapter is easy to read and ends with a focused lesson--kind of a bullet point from her original speech--that encourages readers to be ultimately true to themselves and their dreams, while cutting through harmful illusions. The last chapter, on laughter, is one to read again and again. Shriver maintains that without laughter not much else matters, and in life's toughest times it's laughter that gets us through. For anyone starting a new adventure--graduation, marriage, parenthood, career shift, or a milestone birthday--Ten Things I Wish I'd Known brings wisdom, laughter, practical suggestions, and a down-to-earth manner together into one fabulous gift. --Jill Lightner


From Publishers Weekly
Following the success of her 1999 bestseller What's Heaven?, in which she explained death to children, the NBC anchor woman expands on a commencement speech she delivered two years ago at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass., to share some of her life lessons with young people starting their careers. Although this slim gift book is positioned as a graduation gift, Shriver's natural audience is more likely to be busy working mothers like herself, and celebrity watchers who are curious about her thoughts on managing marriage, motherhood and career (Shriver and husband Arnold Schwarzenegger have four children). In lessons that are mostly about work and character, she shares simple notions that are fundamentally sound and that many adults will agree with: pursue your passion; consider no job to be beneath you; be willing to fail; realize that behavior has consequences; find a mentor. Unfortunately, the warmth and humor Shriver may have projected in person are forced on the page. Although she tries to build rapport with amusing stories of early faux pas and setbacks in her journalism career, readers may have trouble relating to her main predicamentAlack of appreciation from people who might have wondered if a beautiful, rich kid actually wanted a jobAas well as her idea of disappointment: not being as successful as Oprah or Diane Sawyer. Even so, Shriver's strength of character, her genuine admiration for her parents and her love for her family shine through. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
YA-Young adults will check this out for at least one of several reasons. They will like the short length. They'll get the scoop on the author and reporter and her high-profile husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the famous Kennedy family. More importantly, they will get the message about the significance of humility, passion, and laughter at home and in the workplace. Wearing the hat of a player and a coach, Shriver takes a learn-from-my-personal-experiences approach to this expanded version of the commencement address she gave to the students at Holy Cross College. The introduction is a funny anecdote about how she came to make that academic address, which she feared, and then to write this book. Through humorous examples, Shriver explores relationships with parents, siblings, supervisors, coworkers, spouse, children, and friends. As heavy as "life lessons" can be, this book is neither preachy nor pretentious; it's fast, smart, thoughtful, and fun. This quick read gives an intense flavor of what it is like to be part of a busy celebrity household. It reads like an autobiography with adventure and mystery mixed in.Karen Sokol, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Ann Landers
"...an excellent book that will be especially valuable to...college graduates...loaded with wisdom and wit...also a fascinating overview of her own career in television and her life with Arnold Schwartzenegger..."


Book Description
--Starting at the bottom--over and over again --Dealing with--and learning from--the Boss from Hell --Giving up the Wedding Delusion, not to mention that one-way ticket to Happily Ever After --Being asked to bend your principles--by your superiors --Wanting to be a high-powered success and super parent --Knowing that children will both exhaust and sustain you --Facing that terrifying question: "What have I been put on this earth to do?" You could call them notes from life's trenches. Maria Shriver's TEN THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN--BEFORE I WENT OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD gives us her reflections, confessions, advice, memories, and, most of all, hard-earned lessons...all the things we wish we knew before we started out, and that few people ever honestly discuss. Here is the truth about: the price we pay for giving in to our fears, as well as the relief we feel when we finally face them; the humiliation of swallowing our ego so that we can learn from an abusive experience; the rewards of taking risks and the pain of failure; the joy of finding someone we can love and the limitations of every relationship; how it's never too late to tap the wisdom of others, even (especially!) our own parents; and the importance of taking what we do seriously without taking ourselves seriously. Expanded from Maria's acclaimed College of the Holy Cross commencement address and written in the voice of a trusted and trusting best friend, TEN THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN--BEFORE I WENT OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD is a pithy, poignant, down-to-earth, and at times laugh-out-loud book that will help people of all ages and on all roads in life. It's within you to carve out your own future, create your own destiny. I wrote this book so that you might be spared. Not from having to learn the lessons I had to learn. No one can spare you that, because learning is experiential, and you have to do it yourself. As a wise person once told me: If I could spare you the pain you're experiencing, I wouldn't--because I wouldn't want to deprive you of the strength and wisdom you'll gain from having gone through it and come out the other side. Each and every one of you is a powerful, resilient human being capable of living the life you design for yourself. I wish all of you the faith and the courage to pinpoint your passion.


Download Description
· Starting at the bottom--over and over again· Dealing with--and learning from--the Boss from Hell· Giving up the Wedding Delusion, not to mention that one-way ticket to Happily Ever After· Being asked to bend your principles--by your superiors· Wanting to be a high-powered success and super parent· Knowing that children will both exhaust and sustain you· Facing that terrifying question: "What have I been put on this earth to do?" You could call them notes from life's trenches. Maria Shriver's Ten Things I Wish I'd Known--Before I Went out into the Real World gives us her reflections, confessions, advice, memories, and, most of all, hard-earned lessons . . . all the things we wish we knew before we started out, and that few people ever honestly discuss. Here is the truth about: the price we pay for giving in to our fears, as well as the relief we feel when we finally face them; the humiliation of swallowing our ego so that we can learn from an abusive experience; the rewards of taking risks and the pain of failure; the joy of finding someone we can love and the limitations of every relationship; how it's never too late to tap the wisdom of others, even (especially!) our own parents; and the importance of taking what we do seriously without taking ourselves seriously.


Book Info
Shriver gives us her reflections, confessions, advice, memories, and, most of all, hard-earned lessons...all the things we wish we knew before we started out, and that few people ever honestly discuss. DLC: Youth--Conduct of life.


About the Author
Maria Shriver puts her "commas" in the following order: mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, Peabody Award- and Emmy Award-winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author (for What's Heaven?), and forty-plus woman desperately seeking more time, more patience, a homework helper, and a twenty-one-year-old's skin and body. She lives with her husband and four children in Santa Monica, California.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

*Starting at the bottom--over and over again

*Dealing with--and learning from--the Boss from Hell

*Giving up the Wedding Delusion, not to mention that one-way ticket to Happily Ever After

*Being asked to bend your principles--by your superiors

*Wanting to be a high-powered success and super parent

*Knowing that children will both exhaust and sustain you

*Facing that terrifying question: "What have I been put on this earth to do?"

You could call them notes from life's trenches. Maria Shriver's Ten Things I Wish I'd Known: Before I Went Out into the Real World gives us her reflections, confessions, advice, memories, and, most of all, hard-earned lessons...all the things we wish we knew before we started out, and that few people ever honestly discuss.

Here is the truth about: the price we pay for giving in to our fears, as well as the relief we feel when we finally face them; the humiliation of swallowing our ego so that we can learn from an abusive experience; the rewards of taking risks and the pain of failure; the joy of finding someone we can love and the limitations of every relationship; how it's never too late to tap the wisdom of others, even (especially!) our own parents; and the importance of taking what we do seriously without taking ourselves seriously.

Expanded from Maria's acclaimed College of the Holy Cross commencement address and written in the voice of a trusted and trusting best friend, Ten Things I Wish I'd Known: Before I Went Out into the Real World is a pithy, poignant, down-to-earth, and at times laugh-out-loud book that will help people of all ages and on all roads in life.

It's within you to carve out your own future, create your own destiny.

I wrote this book so that you might be spared. Not from having to learn the lessons I had to learn. No one can spare you that, because learning is experiential, and you have to do it yourself. As a wise person once told me: If I could spare you the pain you're experiencing, I wouldn't--because I wouldn't want to deprive you of the strength and wisdom you'll gain from having gone through it and come out the other side.

Each and every one of you is a powerful, resilient human being capable of living the life you design for yourself. I wish all of you the faith and the courage to pinpoint your passion.

About the Author:

Maria Shriver puts her "commas" in the following order: mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, Peabody Award- and Emmy Award-winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author (for What's Heaven?), and forty-plus woman desperately seeking more time, more patience, a homework helper, and a twenty-one-year-old's skin and body. She lives with her husband and four children in Santa Monica, California.

SYNOPSIS

Broadcast journalist Maria Shriver reveals the lessons that have guided her journey as a career woman, wife, and mother. Expanded from her highly praised commencement address and best-selling book, this Little Book offers wise and wonderful advice.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Following the success of her 1999 bestseller What's Heaven?, in which she explained death to children, the NBC anchor woman expands on a commencement speech she delivered two years ago at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass., to share some of her life lessons with young people starting their careers. Although this slim gift book is positioned as a graduation gift, Shriver's natural audience is more likely to be busy working mothers like herself, and celebrity watchers who are curious about her thoughts on managing marriage, motherhood and career (Shriver and husband Arnold Schwarzenegger have four children). In lessons that are mostly about work and character, she shares simple notions that are fundamentally sound and that many adults will agree with: pursue your passion; consider no job to be beneath you; be willing to fail; realize that behavior has consequences; find a mentor. Unfortunately, the warmth and humor Shriver may have projected in person are forced on the page. Although she tries to build rapport with amusing stories of early faux pas and setbacks in her journalism career, readers may have trouble relating to her main predicament--lack of appreciation from people who might have wondered if a beautiful, rich kid actually wanted a job--as well as her idea of disappointment: not being as successful as Oprah or Diane Sawyer. Even so, Shriver's strength of character, her genuine admiration for her parents and her love for her family shine through. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

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