Product Description

"Maria Shriver is wise, funny and caring--and it all comes through in her winning guide to life, JUST WHO WILL YOU BE? We're lucky to have her show us the way."
-- Tom Brokaw

"Maria teaches all of us in the graduate program of life to seek meaning through the joy of following your heart. Just the kind of advice a heart surgeon cherishes."
--Mehmet Oz, M.D.

"Everything Maria Shriver does is a testament to how deeply she respects and cares about people; all people, all over the world. She really does. She is as charming and funny as she is brilliant and profoundly humane."
--Anne Lamott

"Maria Shriver is real, vulnerable, humble, honest (just like her book) and not afraid to say so. A lovely book by a lovely person."
--Danielle Steel

"This honest, straight-talking, profound little book is worth a lifetime of reflection. It calls readers of all ages to think again-and differently-about who they've been in the past and who they want to be now. This book is a life-stopper, a truly universal piece. It's a must for everyone-of any age."
--Sister Joan Chittister

"Every graduate (of anything) ought to be given a copy of this book along with their diploma. There's wisdom, compassion and truth between these covers. For anyone -- at any age."
--Linda Ellerbee, Executive Producer, "Nick News"

"I've learned that asking ourselves not just what we want to be, but who we want to be is important at every stage of our lives, not just when we're starting out in the world. That's because in a way, we're starting out fresh in the world every single day."

Just Who Will You Be? is a candid, heartfelt, and inspirational book for seekers of all ages. Inspired by a speech she gave, Maria Shriver's message is that what you do in your life isn't what matters. It's who you are. It's an important lesson that will appeal to anyone of any age looking for a life of meaning.

In her own life, Shriver always walked straight down her own distinctive path, achieving her childhood goal of becoming "award-winning network newswoman Maria Shriver". But when her husband was elected California's Governor and she suddenly had to leave her job at NBC News, Maria was thrown for a loop. Right about then, her nephew asked her to speak at his high school graduation. She resisted, wondering how she could possibly give advice to kids, when she was feeling so lost herself. But in the end she relented and decided to dig down and dig deep, and the result is this little jewel.

Just Who Will You Be? reminds us that the answer to many of life's question lie within -- and that we're all works in progress. That means it's never too late to become the person you want to be.

Now the question for you is this: Just who will you be?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #377 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-15
• Released on: 2008-04-15
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 112 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This slender inspirational book is a candid self-portrait of a woman in transition. A longtime NBC anchorwoman, Shriver was thrown into a tailspin when asked to resign after her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was elected governor of California; she writes, My career was gone, and with it went the person I'd been for twenty-five years. With a combination of self-deprecation and chutzpah, Shriver describes herself as the consummate overachiever, a people-pleasing, legacy-carrying, perfection-seeking Good Girl, now realizing that asking ourselves not just what we want to be but who we want to be is important at every stage in our lives, not just when we're starting out in the world. That's because, in a way, we're starting out fresh in the world every single day. Reprinted in full in this book is the speech Shriver made at her nephew's high school graduation—a humorous meditation on fame, achievement and self-worth—that inspired the writing of this book. Shriver's earnest self-inquiry and her humility and readiness to regard herself as a 50-year-old work-in-progress make for a charming and genuinely inspiring read. (May)
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About the Author
Maria Shriver is the author of five bestselling books. She lives, breathes, and writes in California.

Customer Reviews

Book review
I truly believe every parent should read this book and also give each of their children a copy!. Excellent!

Fresh and Exciting Perspective!
There are two ideas in this book that I absolutely love -
First, Shriver suggests that WHO you are - all the little ways, the so-called insignificant ways, you can be of service to the world, like smiling at the bus driver - matters MORE than your job description. And that it is WHO you will be in life that is exciting, what you do being a part of that greater, richer whole of the person you are. This may sound obvious, but frankly its not what I was taught, nor what I experience in the world at large. Like she says, she was Maria Shriver-Anchorwoman, until she was forced to become Maria Shriver, and discovered what a gift that truly was.

Second, she suggests that each day "we are starting out fresh in the world." What a profound point of view! And it is in fact TRUE. There is nothing at all that holds us to our past other than our point of view that it somehow matters. What Shriver suggests is that each new moment is a completely new opportunity - not a linear progression from the past - but a chance to look and see who you are in THIS moment.

Thank you Ms. Shriver for a very lovely book - Two other books that I love and which also discuss being of service and living in the moment, offering astonishing shifts in perspective about life, are Ariel and Shya Kane's Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment and How to Create a Magical Relationship. Check them out!

Fantastically inspiring
This is a wonderful book and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's inspiring and thought provoking, taking you beyond "me" to "we" and then back to "me" again in a fascinating study of how none of us are ever finished growing and developing. Its words empower you to change and grow no matter what your age or situation. It's short and sweet, but full of wisdom. I read it in under an hour (so no excuses that you are too busy!), and I know I will refer to it again and again. If you are experiencing change in your life (and who isn't these days?) this is definitely the book for you.