Overall: 🐢🐢🐢🐢
Storyline:
Writing Style:
Personal Growth:
Enjoyment:
“Each morning is a do-over, a reset, the chance to make and do right, to laugh more, love more, learn from yesterday, live forward, begin again or just begin.”
Worthy by Jane Boulware
The Story:
Jane Boulware was never meant to succeed yet did so while no one was looking. No one would have expected the scrappy girl working the corn fields of rural Iowa, who paid for college selling used carpet and prayers, to become a leader of billion-dollar businesses and a top Microsoft executive. Vulnerable, relatable, uplifting, and heart-breaking, Worthy’s stories of overcoming expectations, failure, and fear will inspire you to rethink what’s possible.
Key Elements:
Memoir, Success, Failure, Women, Business, Worthy, Life Lessons, Achievements, Family, Work-life, Growing Up
Why This Rating?
Full Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a voluntary honest review.
This was a very honest and truly an inspirational story to read. The author has given us a chance to read about not only her successes in life, but the humble and perhaps a bit crowded childhood / young adulthood full of life lessons and hard moments learned. Jane has been a pioneer for women in the big office workspace. She managed to carve a place of her own and held her own against the big guns constantly while she was in the workforce. She rallied against every man who looked over her because she was a woman in a man’s world of business, showing time and time again that she is someone to pay attention to. This memoir is providing such a fantastic insight to all of the good and the bad that has come with the path that she has created over her career. She reach out and caught the opportunities that were opening to her even when she doubted herself. But man, I am so grateful she was willing to tell us all about it! Her story showed me that as long as you are willing to work hard and not let an open door of opportunity close, the things you can accomplish are boundless. It wont be an easy path, but as long as you stick to your morals, have faith and hope, and a deep bond of love with your family, the path becomes a bit easier to walk.
I enjoyed the way Jane wrote her memoir. It felt like I was having a conversation with one of my aunts. My aunts (and some others in my life) rarely hold back when they want to tell you a story that is deeply meaningful to them or if they feel like you could benefit from a lesson they’ve learned. Jane would fit in beautifully with these cherished women in my life. These group gatherings are always a place where loving and vulnerable stories are passed around with loved ones and young ones. The laughs and pains are shared with everyone there. Sometimes we crack out the decks of cards and pass the time of storytelling while dealing the cards around and playing games. Not too far off from some of the moments Jane shared with us in her story.
One aspect of her story that showed up a few times that is still sitting with me is something that might seem small, but in reality is something not discussed enough. She changed BIG moments in life were others would have just gone (myself included) “nah, I’m comfortable here” or “this is the path I’m on and it’s too late to change it now”. Jane decided to make those changes that would have stopped me cold and clearly it work for her. The biggest thing I wanted everyone to know – even if you never read this memoir -, this successful woman changed her college major well into her schooling. Hell, this happened again for Jane when leaving Kimberly-Clark and moving to Microsoft. She took on the challenge it present and was willing to change careers when she could have stayed. Proving to you that it isn’t going to be the end of your career or schooling, as long as you are willing to put the work in to make the change worth it. Just because you have put all of this time into something doesn’t mean you can’t branch out into other fields. You might just find the best way to mesh your passions together to work better for you!
It was a beautiful memoir about a strong and inspirational woman who teaches us all that we are most certainly Worthy of everything we do and accomplish in life. These are some of the thing that I took away from the story:
– We all need 4-o’clock friends. They are the ones you can call at any time and they’ll be there for you no matter what
– Keep personal priorities close to your heart and don’t compromise if it means loosing those precious things
– Treasure the humanity in people because there will always be Kents out there to squish it
– You can always learn a new perspective from people and you should aways try to apply it
– Success shouldn’t be measured by someone else’s rules and guidelines. Your success is defined by your own rules and lines
There are more that can be found throughout the story, but these are a few that stayed with me after reading! I fully recommend this to everyone of you out there. I think there is something everyone can pick up while reading or find a bit of encouraging nudges coming from the pages that you didn’t know you were looking for. Jane is nothing but empowering to everyone her words will touch!
Fun fact for this book – Jane is an active participant for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and she has decided something pretty awesome for this book. All profits from this book are being donated to Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Youth of the Year scholarships. If you don’t know, the Clubs provide the people, programs and opportunities that absolutely change lives. They provide so many services to the communities and to the children in the Clubs surrounding areas. So, if you do join the reading groups for this memoir, know that you are helping support a fantastic organization!
Time to get lost in the next story!
