How to Avoid the Superwoman Complex (BOOK REVIEW)
How
to Avoid the Superwoman Complex
12
Ways to Balance Mind, Body & Spirit
by
C. Nicole Swiner, MD
C.
Nicole Swiner, MD Publishing
Paperback,
$12.95
128
pages
ISBN:
978-1-62698-109-6
Book
Review by Kam Williams
“Although we spend the
bulk of our waking hours working, we often underestimate the impact
of work on our physical, mental and spiritual health. Dealing with
difficult bosses and coworkers, taking on more projects than we can
realistically handle, and doing work that is not meaningful can cause
significant stress in our lives. As an organizational psychologist...
I have seen how challenging work situations have translated into
challenging health problems for my clients, particularly the
women—the Superwomen...
C. Nicole Swiner, MD
incredibly explains the relationship between mind, body and soul in
language that is not only understandable but actionable... The road
map that she provides throughout the book enables women to take care
of themselves in an intentional way. Dr. Swiner lets Superwomen know
that they can indeed be super, but they must pick and choose their
battles wisely to not burn out along the way.”
-- Excerpted from the
Foreword by Audra Davis, PsyD (pages xii-xiii)
How
to Avoid the Superwoman Complex bills itself as a how-to book
designed to help working females at risk of spreading themselves too
thin. Unfortunately, in a classic case of bait and switch, the actual
advice dispensed on its pages bears little resemblance to what's
suggested by the self-help sounding title.
Instead,
this opus is filled with a lot of the sort of boiler plate medical
advice you might find on pamphlets in a general practitioner's
waiting room. And the author, C. Nicole Swiner, MD, just happens to
be a physician with a family practice.
What's
weird is that most of her 12 steps to a new you revolve around
medical advice. In Chapter 1, on sleep hygiene, she talks about
prescribing Ambien, Lunesta and Rozerem for patients unable to get a
good night's rest.
In
Chapter 2, dedicated to heart health, she suggests that women stop
smoking, check their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, and
suggests that “an aspirin a day keeps the doctor away.”
Chapter
5 is downright bizarre, starting with the author's wishing her
readers “Happy Labor Day!” on the 1st of September.
From there, she launches into a discussion of caring for infants, and
covers such subjects as car seats, food allergies and vaccinations
which, as a doctor, she naturally advocates.
Next,
she shifts her attention to the needs of pubescent teens, advocating
abstinence but conceding that many will be sexually-active. She
subsequently covers STDs as well as different forms of birth control,
and even devotes about three pages to a description of the pros and
cons of Intrauterine Devices (IUDs). What I found most shocking was
the conspicuous absence of a discussion of abortion in this section
exploring so many related topics at considerable depth.
The
themes of other chapters range from deer ticks to obesity to cancer,
all invariably examined from the author's professional medical
perspective. My final complaint is that the book is only 128 pages
long, less than 80, really, if you subtract all the prefatory remarks
and the many blank pages set aside for notes.
Overall,
an unsatisfying insult to the intelligence that avoids rather than
tackles the serious issues surrounding the “Superwoman Complex.”
Consider yourself warned.
To
order a copy of How to Avoid the Superwoman Complex, visit:
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