Author: Patricia R. Adson, PhD

Publisher: – Center for Applications of Psychological type (CAPT) – 135 pages

Book Review by: Sonu Chandiramani

A group of friends of mine – all married cou0ples – got into an argument once at a party about whether husbands or wives get more stress. All the husbands contended that of course it was they who have more stress since they were the sole or main breadwinners for their familie

I was the lone sole who took the side of the wives. The men were surprised, and women? Delighted. So both sides wanted to know why I thought wives had more stress. I said in so many words that most men have, fir the most part, mainly only one thing they’re responsible for: make money and provide fir the family. (In our group only about 50 percent of the wives worked to contribute to the family’s income)

My reasons for saying women – both married and single – had more stress was simply that they have a larger number of responsibilities so therefore they have to juggle their time to perform their various roles wife, mother, homemaker, grocery shopper, “social director,” party planner, nurse, and sometimes also household “budget balancer.” The list of tasks ladies do is obviously much larger.

I became the darling of all the women at that social event, but in my heart, I knew I was telling the truth. And in my mind, I provided them ample proof that women are more stressed just the range of roles they hold. I believe – and studies have proven – that it is easier to do anything when you put all your effort of thinking about and doing one task.

The only exception wherein men have more stress than women is business owners, especially of small enterprises, who have to perform a large variety of roles. Business owners’ stress (especially in a tough recession as we are in now) is to ensure that their business is making enough money to pay for everything.

Among these are cost of goods or services they sell, pay the salaries and-or commissions of all employees, pay for all goods and services required in running the business smoothly, pay interest and finance charges if any, and to ensure, after giving themselves a paycheck, that there’s money left over as profit for themselves and-or other shareholders.

Without an adequate paycheck or profit retained as equity, the business owner would be better off being an employee elsewhere.

There are exceptions to most statements, so I say that business ownership can be a lot more stressful than being an employee. But the point of this review is that overwhelmed women need to give themselves a break.

The focus of this book is the overstress woman. The author Dr. Patricia Adson shows her the importance of – and the how-to – of taking care of herself as takes care of all the people, responsibilities and tasks in her life – her “garden.” And more than just taking care of herself, but treat herself just like a princess.

The lessons in this book are imparted in the form of a story of a princess and her garden. In this ingenious way the author is having readers take stock of their current stressful situation and learn to remedy it, to restore sanity to themselves.

From being the “Princess of Other People” Patricia Adson helps the reader move to becoming the “Queen of Yourself.” This is a journey from the gardens of “Then” (growing up and lessons of conditioning from your family) to the gardens of “The In-Between” (leaving home, people you met along the way, victories as well as painful disappointments) to the gardens of “Now” (caring for yourself).

This is a refreshingly different book – something one would not expect to be written by a psychologist – that provides hope to stressed women who are overwhelmed with so much to take care of in their lives that they forget their own emotional needs. Learn how to transform yourself from being the princess of others to becoming the queen of yourself by reading this wonderful story book. It could be your key to a new life of fulfillment and happiness.