cover image Power Your Happy: Work Hard, Play Nice, and Build Your Dream Life

Power Your Happy: Work Hard, Play Nice, and Build Your Dream Life

Lisa Sugar. Dutton, $25 (256p) ISBN 978-1-101-98506-9

Sugar recounts the founding of her media empire, PopSugar, while also imparting advice for personal and professional fulfillment. She left a successful career in advertising to pursue writing full-time, and she encourages readers to find the “intersection of [their] passion and talent.” Sugar presents tactics for networking and crafting a resume or cover letter, and describes her experience creating and leading a successful team. Her commentary on “having it all” is astute, noting that “ ‘all’ is subjective” and having a support system is vital. She discusses her relationship with her husband as a blueprint for a successful marriage and outlines her own healthy eating and exercise habits. It’s difficult not to notice Sugar’s limited viewpoint, however, when she counsels readers on getting over break-ups despite her own lack of experience with them (she met her husband when she was 17), or concludes commentary on body image and self-acceptance with the banal statement “Learning to love my hair has been a long journey.” The advice is also largely tailored to young professionals, as when she comments on the acceptability of not knowing what you want to do, “whether you are 15, 25, or even 35.” That said, she knows her readership, and there is plenty of helpful guidance here for those just setting out on establishing themselves. [em]Agent: Andy McNicol, William Morris Endeavor. (Sept.) [/em]