Books

Say The Word You’ll Be Free

This well-written, occasionally witty book at times tends to get too simplistic and repetitive

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Say The Word You’ll Be Free
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Lean In has won Sheryl Sandberg many fans and a reasonable number of critics. The reason is simple: she writes from an enviable position, as one of the most powerful women in business, the highest paid Facebook executive currently and COO of the company. While that kind of position certainly earns her the liberty to dole out important life lessons, could they seriously work in the face of what some of her critics call ‘real-world obstacles’? Perhaps not. Further, it seems as though Sandberg’s visible enthusiasm to shake things up a bit in her feminist march could actually work to isolate scores of working women who may actually want to be successful, but not necessarily covet top spots at the workplace or feel the need to make drastic sacrifices at home.

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At times too simplistic, Sandberg’s intentions, no doubt, are very noble. “I believe that if more women lean in, we can change the power structure of our world and expand opportunities,” she writes. Personally, reading the book elicited widely varying sentiments: in turns hopeful (could women actually lead the world if they tried?), doubtful (could it really be that easy to be so assertive?), and at times slightly put off (sure, her tips are easier said, read than done). To her credit, Sandberg eventually comes off as more or less a likeable character through her anecdotal how-to tome, co-written with writer Nell Scovell. When she asks us women professionals to ‘lean in’, rat­her than lurk in the recesses of a meeting room, you nod along. But after a couple of chapters of the well-written, occasionally witty book, her arguments tend to get repetitive, and lose some of its initial appeal.

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What helps, however, is Sandberg’s mostly empathetic tone. While it may not make for particularly enticing bedtime reading, it could well be an effective go-to for ambitious working professionals across the globe. In that sense, the book is well adapted for an Indian audience—with a preface by HSBC India’s Naina Lal Kidwai, not to mention the statistics related to Indian women that Sandberg cites to illustrate some of her arguments.

Ultimately, it is lines such as this: “I know it’s pointless to tell someone to be fearless. I regularly fail to convince even myself”—that make Sandberg appear less of a diva, and more like one of us.

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