Review: Put on Your Crown by Queen Latifah

Thanks to Hachette Book Group for letting me review this one.



About the Book

Modeled after Maria Shriver's Just Who Will You Be, Queen Latifah's goal with Put On Your Crown is to help young women build a strong sense of self-esteem. A US Dept. of Justice survey found that females ages 16-24 are more vulnerable to partner violence than any other group, almost triple the national average. Cases like Chris Brown's assault on pop star Rihanna showed an ugly side of adolescent life. However, Queen Latifah has always been a shining example of a woman happy with herself and unwilling to compromise to fit into the "hollywood ideal" of what a confident beautiful woman should look like. The result: She's one of the biggest A-list celebrities in Hollywood.

For more information about Put on Your Crown visit Hachette Book Group's website.

My Review

While I don't necessarily think of myself as a young woman anymore (which is who the book is geared towards) I do think that this book contains lessons that any woman, and even men, should learn. The basic ideas of the book are love yourself for who you are, take time to care for yourself first, and love the people around you for who they are.

I've always liked Queen Latifah. She's always seemed to me to be fairly grounded. I think my favorite thing about this book is that she proves to the reader that she's just a normal person. She makes mistakes, she's not perfect, and she realizes that. I think she's a great role model. (Side note I LOVE her fashion sense. I have for a while, but my love for her eye was solidified when I read How to Never Look Fat Again and it says something to the effect that if you're a plus size woman dress like Queen Latifah, she knows what she's doing.)

I've been going through some tough times mentally in the last year or so and reading this book did help me. While it's mostly stuff I already knew (like I said it's geared for young women, and I have left that arena a bit ago) it was information that I needed to remind myself. Somehow reading that "The Queen" was and had been going through some of the same things really helped me find the strength I needed to kick my own butt and get myself back on track again.

If you're having some self doubt, about anything in your life pick this one up. If you know a young woman pass it along. It can't hurt to try and teach a young woman the lessons we've all had to learn the hard way! It also could be beneficial for some young men. It's written for a woman, but I think the lessons are great for men or women.

Put on Your Crown: Life-Changing Moments on the Path to Queendom