The Assertiveness Guide for Women
How to Communicate Your Needs, Set Healthy Boundaries, and Transform Your Relationships
This is a welcoming workbook for women who are ready to break new ground in their relationships.
Who doesn’t want to get her way more often? Julie de Azevedo Hanks specializes in helping women tap into their needs and desires, as they learn to ask for what they want in a way that is positive, authentic, and strong. The Assertiveness Guide for Women: How to Communicate Your Needs, Set Healthy Boundaries, and Transform Your Relationships is a wonderful audiobook that provides an empowering boost for women ready to take control of their lives.
Believe it or not, assertiveness starts with good boundaries. Hanks quickly breaks down her definition of “assertiveness.” It isn’t bossiness, and it isn’t trampling on other people, either. Assertiveness, she says, is “an expression of difference—there’s no real need to express our thoughts and feelings if they’re the same as everyone else’s, right?” Women fear that differences will create distance, but clearly communicating and valuing them actually builds relationships and confidence.
Narrator Rebecca Roberts’s tone is conspiratorial, confident, and feminine. The audiobook is broken into fifteen chapters that cover basic techniques for becoming more assertive. Guided meditations are included as well, with the intent of helping women identify the memories and feelings that influence their choices. Although Hanks has a PhD and a long career as a psychotherapist, this book primarily includes anecdotal evidence rather than scientific data. Including examples from actual clients she’s helped adds variety.
Roberts’s voice is soothing, and softens some of the audiobook’s more intense moments. Hanks’s key message is that women, who often feel overwhelmed and overlooked deserve to be heard and valued. Rather than wait for this to be given, she urges women to help themselves by learning to use a few simple tried-and-true tools.
Reviewed by
Claire Foster
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
