Blog Tour: The Balance Project by Susie Orman Schnall (Chrissy’s review)

The Balance Project
written by Susie Orman Schnall
published by SparkPress, 2015

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, iBooks, Book Depository, Goodreads

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange  for an honest review.

Did I enjoy this book: I did enjoy The Balance Project. I read it every free chance I had, and I didn’t want to put it down.

I read Ms. Schnall’s previous release, On Grace, a year ago and enjoyed that read. (You can check out my review here.) After I read On Grace, I began following Ms. Schnall on Facebook. There, I started following her series of interviews with women in various professions and stages in life regarding balance.  Once I found out Ms. Schnall wrote a book based on her Balance Project, I knew I had to read it. And I wasn’t disappointed.

When I started The Balance Project, I was reminded of The Devil Wears Prada. There are a few similarities–demanding boss, lowly assistant, high-profile work place, the loving boyfriend who had enough–but those similarities were soon differences. The demanding boss wasn’t too demanding, and she wasn’t downright mean. Sure, Katherine had her moments. A few of those moments made me really dislike her. The lowly assistant wasn’t easily replaceable. Lucy was a true friend and asset to her boss. Did she have her moments of “OMG, I can’t believe she did that!”? Absolutely. Those moments made her a bit more real for me. The boyfriend won me over. He was a great guy, and he made quite a few good points for Lucy to think about. I wanted to get to know Nick a bit more, but what I found out, I liked. He was almost too good to be true. I loved the ending. It was fantastic–and a bit unexpected.

This book also makes you think about whether or not you can truly “have it all.” I don’t want to give away the ending, or other key parts of the story, so I won’t. But I will say that this book will make you think. And I think it would be a great book club book. I may recommend it to my book group.

Would I recommend it: Yes, it is a good read.

About the book: Katherine Whitney has it all. She’s married, has two daughters, is the COO of Green Goddess & Co., a multi-billion dollar health and wellness lifestyle company, and with the release of her book on work-life balance, she is not only a media darling but she is a hero to working moms everywhere. In reality, though, Katherine’s life is starting to fall apart, and her loyal assistant Lucy Cooper is the one holding most things together. But when Katherine does something unthinkable to Lucy, Lucy is faced with a difficult decision. Will she choose to change Katherine’s life forever or continue being her main champion. Her decision could change the trajectory of both of their lives. The Balance Project is a story of loyalty, choices, and most of all balance as it explores the hot-button issue that all women struggle with.

 

 

About the author: Originally from Los Angeles, Susie Orman Schnall graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. Schnall has written for national and local publications about parenting and health. She lives in New York with her husband and their three young boys.

Find Ms. Schnall here: web, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads