As a mother of two young girls, Huffington wanted to provide a guide for female fearlessness. She does this in On Becoming Fearless by capturing her experiences in dealing with fear.
Her first serious encounter occurs when her own mother shows the courage to stand up to German soldiers who threatened to kill everyone if they didn’t reveal where Jews were hiding. The then nine-year-old Huffington feared not only for her mother but also for herself.
In the book, Huffington maps out the path for reaching fearlessness through her own stories and those from female guest contributors.
One of the more common fears among women concerns looks and self-image. Huffington explains how she felt about her looks and her insecurity in high school and college. She goes on to share stories of others and her own experiences, tossing in the advice that we’ve heard a thousand times before. Discover an activity that you enjoy as a way of getting exercise, for example.
Though Huffington says she battled to achieve a certain physical appearance, get real — the woman was attractive and never had an obvious weight problem, although she apparently fought many food battles and won. Having the self-confident women who overcame dwelling on their large size or less than good looks speak up would be more inspiring.
“Never get up from the table feeling stuffed or guilty, but also never get up without feeling satisfied” is a good example of the advice you get from the book. It would’ve been better to hear more from the likes of Anna Deavere Smith. Please don’t confuse the talented actress with Anna Nicole.
This isn’t to say Huffington — who has accomplished much since her Greek beginnings — has nothing to offer. A person doesn’t become successful like Huffington without a large effort on her part. Her writing talent is evident in On Becoming Fearless and most chapters offer something of value to the reader. The fact is, however, that other authors and books do a better job of inspiring readers on the topic of dealing with fear.
The best parts in On Becoming Fearless come from other women’s stories and the guest contributors who shared experiences fearlessness as the essence without letting their fame or ego get in the way. But really, the advice is common sense. Those who didn’t pick up some of the ideas posed in the book will appreciate it more. On Becoming Fearless still makes a nice read, but it shouldn’t be someone’s hope for a solution in facing fears.
Title: On Becoming Fearless … in Love, Work and Life
Author: Arianna Huffington
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 0316166820
Date: April 2007
Format: Paperback
Pages: 240