Living Outside the Stacks

I have five children and I half~jokingly describe them as “self~confident to a friggin’ fault”.  Seriously, I have never met kids who are more self~assured than these guys.  And I honestly have no clue where they get it from  but I’m glad they have it.  I mean, I’m thirty~seven years old and I don’t have that level of self~confidence.  I suspect many women feel that way…

Tired of watching women pick themselves apart and reeling from the destructive nature of what she calls “Fat Talk”.  Fat Talk is the constant picking apart of your physical attributes and declaring yourself to be fat even though you’re healthy and of average size.  Caitlin Boyle did something radical, she wrote a positive affirmation for herself and stuck it to the bathroom mirror at the community college where she was attending night school.  The simple message read “You are beautiful!”  Feeling instantly buoyed, Caitlin left the message taped to the mirror and wondered what would happen to the next woman who found her note.  So began Operation Beautiful a project with the simple goal of “transforming the way you see yourself one Post~it Note at a time.”

Operation Beautiful: Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post~it Note at a Time by Caitlin Boyle is a compilation of anecdotes from women who took the challenge and left messages of love in random places for other women to find.  The book is divided into seven chapters with five main subjects:  Fat Talk, Family and Friends, Fitness, Food and Faith.  Each section contains stories from women who have either found or left a note and the impact that the message had on them.

The global reach of this movement is extensive, from the heartland of America to the  deserts of Nairobi and the cafes of Paris, France.  Women are touching each other’s lives and making a difference, one Post~it Note at a time.

This is a self~help/inspirational book for women who are looking to move beyond the traditional ideals of what is beautiful.

Caitlin Boyle is the editor of Operation Beautiful and writes a daily food and fitness blog, Healthy Tipping Point. She previously served as a contributing columnist for The Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition.

Challenge:  Leave a note with a positive message for a woman in a public space.  How did it make you feel?

For more information:
Book Goes on sale 3 August 2010
Website: www.operationbeautiful.com
Facebook:  Operation Beautiful
Today Show Clip:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Disclosure:  I received this book free from Penguin Group in exchange for a review.  I am not required to write a positive review, just an honest one.

I have the research skills of a librarian, the preservation skills of an archivist, the organizational skills of a mother and the domestic skills of a Stepford wife. I have the research skills of a librarian, the preservation skills of an archivist, the organizational skills of a mother and the domestic skills of a Stepford wife. Read more from this author