Cover Image: Option B

Option B

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Member Reviews

I found this book very difficult to relate to as despite her losses which would be dreadful in anyone's life, she is so privileged with access to money, parents and so many friends that it is difficult to empathize with her, and therefore difficult to relate to.

She describes an abundance of traumas and an almost corporate approach to dealing with them, as if the reader is likely to listen to her approach and be able to use the multiplicity of contacts, and methods and draw on anyone she can employ, for example, a therapist whenever she needs one.

It strikes me that her audience is the very rich who are at the top of the pile in their wealthy companies and not your average Jane or Joe who might suffer many years of unemployment or living a life alone not knowing how to cope mentally or financially from one day to the next.

I do not decry her lived experience of traumas but question her approach to trying to engage everyman or everywoman in the street.

I wish her well in the circles she lives in, but I am sorry I cant relate easily to her life or her experience of it.

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I wasn't sure about this book at first, i thought it might be a bit depressing, but I was surprised at how uplifting and full of good advice and suggestions it was.

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Aa book that was emotional the sudden death of the authors husband.The new life she was no living.Thoughtful with many options.to survive adversity,Thoughtful well written a guide many will benefit from,#netgalley#optionb

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This book contains useful insights, and I'm sure it will be useful to many.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

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This is not a worthy successor to lean in- not because it lacks feeling or humanity but because you can feel the pen of the ghost writer or co author in every single sentence. SS will write brilliantly about grief one day but not here.

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Not what I was hoping for. I enjoyed it but I feel like there were still questions left unanswered. Some religious parts were also a little exhausting to me. But I guess there are a lot of people who would have liked it. Maybe I would have liked it better if I had read it at another point in life.

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I do feel a bit bad for giving this a low rating. Sheryl Sandberg seems like a nice person and it's been a brave decision to write this but I have to judge it as a book.
Some of the advice and studies are interesting but a great deal of it is specific to her. I don't think many people would have such understanding employers or as many friends and family to help.

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I learned so much from Sheryl's book Lean In, that I was really eager to read this book. I wasn't expecting it to hit so hard or mean to much to me, but it affected me more than I ever thought it would. A fascinating and moving read.

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Before reading, 'Option B' by Sheryl Sandberg, Adam Grant, I had already come across numerous reviews and the opinions seemed to be fiercely divided with reviewers either heavily criticising or declaring their love for the book. There is little middle ground.
First of all, I did enjoy the previous book by Sandberg and Nell Scovell, ‘
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead’ but ‘Option B’ is a uttely different beast as Sandberg recounts her shock at the sudden death of her beloved husband and her subsequent battle to “strength in the face of adversity”. This is less of a self-help book and instead a exploration of how people overcome a variety of hardships, ranging from bereavement, job loss, war and how to preserve to eventually find that nugget of joy within themselves.
There is no doubt that Sandberg’s wealth and privilege did add to the support network available to her and her family, (she did not find herself in any of the financial binds that she mentions) so while I found that her voice came across as sincere as she tries to inspire people, ultimately, much of her advice seems limited to her own social group. Well, intentioned but perhaps not quite as supportive a book as Sandberg would hope.
I received a free copy of this book from WH Allen via Netgallery in return for an honest review.

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