(Crown, 2017)
By Alethea Spiridon
Nicole Lapin knows what she’s talking about. She’s a wildly successful career woman who has blazed a path for herself as both a businesswoman (launching the CASH Smartwatch) and as a news anchor for CNN and CNBC. A boss bitch is the “she-ro” of her own story, Lapin writes on page 1 of the Boss Bitch: “She is the heroine who doesn’t need saving because she has her own shit handled. I became a Boss Bitch by embracing being a ‘boss’ in all aspects of the word.”
That opening sets the tone and pace for this marvellous book that will no doubt empower women who need a nudge, or even an all-out kick in the butt, to take their career—and life—to the next level, and to be as successful as wanted and needed. Lapin’s tone is forthright and honest, and girlfriend to girlfriend, something she says at the outset is exactly how she intends it to be.
Her voice and approach make the content relatable and easy to digest; it’s like going for drinks with a great friend who has your back, but calls you out on your nonsense because all she wants is the best for you. Lapin has plenty of insights to share that can really help women get back on track or consider what track to finally take to become the Boss Bitch in their own lives.
Though the book promises a “12-Step Plan to Take Charge of Your Career” it really isn’t a 12-step approach because not all steps will apply to all women. The steps are divided into three sections: Being the Boss of You, Being the Boss at Work, and Being the Boss of Your Own Business. This is the book’s only failing. Although many women will fall into one of these categories, it seemed as though there would be a 12-step outline you should follow to become a Boss Bitch. But no. This is a little misleading, but not enough to condemn the book as a whole. Boss Bitch contains hidden gems of advice given throughout and offers much valuable insight and advice for every woman at whatever stage of her career she is in.
One of the book’s best aspects is what Lapin calls the “Bottom Line,” offered at the end of each chapter, tackling a piece of conventional wisdom, then giving it her spin on the “Real Deal.” The real deal is her no sugar-coating take on the situation presented, and she shows how the conventional wisdom of the topic at hand may or may not be accurate. For example, one piece of conventional wisdom is that assertive women are overbearing. Her first response to this, her Real Deal reply? “Hell no.” These insights alone, as well as the Bitch Tips and Confessions of a Boss Bitch sprinkled throughout each chapter, are worth the price of the book alone.
She holds nothing back, from revealing her salary level along the course of her career, to personal anecdotes of failure, to how she got back up and learned from those experiences. Her strength of character and steadfastness in her desire to succeed is utterly infectious and is sure to inspire the women who take the time to invest in themselves by reading her book. Boss Bitch is a manifesto of sorts on how to achieve your best self and best life without compromising your values, ethics, and true desires.
Alethea Spiridon is a writer and editor in Southern Ontario. Her first book, Kissing Strangers: How to Online Date Like a Boss is out now and available on Amazon.
This article was copy edited by Nicole North.
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