The Pie Life: A Guilt-Free Recipe For Success and Satisfaction

by Samantha Ettus

The Pie Life is the ultimate self-improvement playbook for women who work. Now is the time for you to banish the guilt and start living a life you love! Havingworked withthousands of womenover the past two decades, Harvard MBA and best-selling author Samantha Ettus shares the secrets for how you can sustain a thrivingpersonaland professional life at the same time.

Incorporating personal stories from hundreds of women including TV writer and producer Shonda Rhimes, news anchor Gayle King, Wall Street maven Sallie Krawcheck, Barnard College President Debora Spar, entrepreneur Liz Lange and Marie Claire Editor-in-Chief Anne Fulenwider, The Pie Lifewill turn everything you know about work/life balance on its head.

Transform your life into one that is more satisfying, rich, and delicious than you ever thought possible and join the thousands of women already living The Pie Life.

Samantha Ettus

@samanthaettus

http: //www.samanthaettus.com "

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Parenting, Personal Development

252 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2016

Reviews

[Kristina Aziz · Rating 4 out of 5]

You don't know how much this book helped me. Not just with organizing things and prioritizing my life, but with the guilt and the self esteem that happens as a working parent.

It's all very well to say "Lean in, Do it ALL!" but to actually attempt to do it ALL is probably unhealthy if you try to make your home-work balance exactly 50/50.

Samantha Ettus is the logical best friend that says "if you work ten hours, commute 2 and sleep 8, you're not going to fit another 10 hours of home time in a 24 hour day."

Everyone's pie is different. A coworker of mine actually does have a commute longer than an hour because she lives out of state. Another has a daughter, but no wife. Still another has like three dogs. All of our pies are different. My commute slice is actually about 15 minutes. I don't have a walk the dog slice. I do have a book review slice, and a year-round prepare-for-Christmas slice.

If you feel overwhelmed from Leaning In, Grab a slice of Pie with Samantha Ettus. (you see how I made that sound like a commercial? fancy!)

[K.J. Dell'Antonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most people aren’t willing to take a stance on whether or not another person should go back to work after having children (who are we kidding, another woman), but Samantha Ettus isn’t most people. Her unfiltered advice is to keep your career or work life rolling by designing your “pie”—by which she means the pie chart of your life—to reflect what you can do and need to do at any moment, and then turning away the guilt that can accompany feeling like something (kids, work, partner) isn’t getting 100 percent. It’s good, practical advice, and fun to read as well, from someone who’s living it.

[Poongothai · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good self help book with useful tips to organize our life like the pieces of a pie and it points out that all the pieces are of importance for the pie to be delicious.

Thanks to netgalley

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personally, I did not find this helpful. This book is very geared (to a bit of an extreme) to career driven women with kids. No kids? Don't bother. Don't want to climb the corporate ladder as high as possible? Not so much for you either. "Successful" life felt extremely biased to the author.
As an audiobook, this also grated on me. No pauses. Just go, go, go. Especially when doing a quiz, we need time to think and note our answers! Seriously, a full 1 second is okay once in a while. She also has a mild lisp, so speeding the audio up doesn't work for those who like to go 2x. Please note, that is not an attack on the author, just an observation for those who like to read fast that things blend together more than usual. Props to the author for narrating her own book. I do appreciate that though.

[Brianne C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must say that this book is delightfully well written. That is the reason I am rating it so highly. I like the author's concept of dividing the different focuses in your life up like you would a pie and assigning them different sizes that make up the whole. Unfortunately, much in this book fell flat for me. I am not saying that the author doesn't give good advice, it just isn't completely applicable everyone. This book geared towards working women (or those who want to work), who also have children, and perhaps a lackluster social life, that want to find a happy medium between them.
It doesn't apply to women who want to stay at home. It doesn't apply to those like me who don't have kids. I couldn't give myself an accurate score on most of the quizzes, because many questions involved children. It also surprisingly doesn't apply to women who have a husband with lofty career goals as well. I can't count the number of times she mentioned a husband going to and recording a recital/play/concert that the wife missed because she had to work. Yes, it's nice if your husband can help you with the balance, but what if he has to work late too? Does only one spouse get to have a fulfilling/balanced life?
That being said, this book will help some women. Unfortunately I am not one of them. If you are stressed because you feel like work is too much and you are not paying enough attention to your kids, read this.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. I was not monetarily compensated for my review and all my opinions are my own.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been working with Samantha on her speaking career, and I read her book to better understand her ideas. The book is the smartest one on work-life balance I've read. It's aimed at women, but I learned a great deal as a man. In particular, her description of negotiating with her husband to get his entrepreneurial working life under control was priceless -- and useful to me as the head of a small consulting company. So man or woman, employed, stay-at-home, or freelance -- you owe it to yourself and your happiness to read this book.

[MetLineReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting take and perspective on juggling and balance. I need a little more of that in my life, so can envisage cutting the pie in different ways. It was a little too "American" for this side of the pond but there are some good nuggets of advice (But getting up an hour earlier doesn't work for me)...

An interesting read and gives food for thought.

3.5* out of 5.

My thanks to the publisher and net galley for an ARC.

[Pattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of it is obvious and common sense; but I admit it does prompt you out of the routine of letting those bad habits take over and hinder your success. I am 52, single and my children are grown - so it didn't resonate. I encourage young working moms to read it - but, of course, they're too busy and don't take enough time to nurture themselves which is one of the items they should do.

[Beautifulday4makeup The-book-and-Me · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've received this book in exchange for an honest review.
As though this is a self help book is, it is written in a well way. Therefore I don't get annoyed by reading it. I found it filled with helpful tips and I certainly picked up some ideas.

[Jasmine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not necessarily everyone lives a lavish lifestyle to hire nannies and go on coffee dates And invite families over on Sunday while having a career and family. I guess that’s the point of the book. Great career advice but the book and author seems to be stuck in a Lala land.

[raccoon reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked Samantha Ettus' take on balancing your life. This is *definitely* a must listen (or read, but I think I got more from listening to her talk as she's a great motivational speaking and a lot comes through in her voice) for ANY working mom. I like that she's not afraid to stand up and speak for working moms. I had read that she got some backlash from sahm's for her book but I didn't read the articles in depth. We need someone to speak directly to our unique challenges as a working mom, especially as a mom who chooses to work and gets something out of my work. Thank you Samantha Ettus. Thank you. I can't say that I'll put into use everything she suggests, but I took away some big game changers. First of all, mom guilt. She really spoke to my heart when she talks about how we agonize over decisions that ten or twenty years down the road just aren't going to matter. And how often things we thing are big deals are no big deal to our kids. Seeing a confident, radiant, happy mom IS a big deal. I can't be there for every milestone for my son, but it doesn't make me less of a mom. I'm no longer beating myself up when I have to choose work over a school event or other thing in my son's life. I'm feeling much more confident and way less guilt. I hope Samantha Ettus continues to write on this topic and help working moms. We need you! I recommend this book to any working mom.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was geared entirely towards women who are parents. While the stories are engaging and easy to read it did not speak to my current reality. It did help me start to envision how I might be able to manage having a family I felt it neglected more tips for women who may not have kids but still struggle to be have a healthier balance to life. My other major criticism of the book is that it did not really talk about tips on how to manage having jobs that may not provide an opportunity to work at home or negotiate the hours that you would be in the office.

The outlining of breaking goals into achievable steps is not anything new. But what I loved is how the planner that I got in a bundle in my Fab Fit Fun box helped me outline my goals in this New Year while also being a place where I can organize my personal schedule and to-do lists. While the stories are fun and engaging if you just want to get to work on your goals skip the book and buy the planner. It has all of the same information that is in the book.

Check out my complete review at http://notanentrylevelreader.blogspot...

[Zibby Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book incorporates many stories of working women on how to balance personal and professional life without feeling guilty. Some of the women include Shonda Rhimes, Gayle King, and others.
The author gives us some insightful and informative advice. She also outlines real-world applications that can be implemented in our daily lives.

There was one quote where the author writes, "It's not selfish to have friends when you're a busy working parent. It's essential." She also has some advice: "You're not aiming to win the face time game in parenting. The best parenting comes through in the quality moments."

The author goes systematically through the parts of her life and talks about why it's important for women to work and own their passions. She also gives tips on how women can be great parents along the way and how they can use work, hobbies, and relationships to have a better life.

To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://www.momsdonthavetimetoreadboo...

[Lisa Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of helpful tips, scenarios and feelings many can identify with, especially in terms of the daily/weekly/monthly struggle to keep all the balls in the air. Somehow, the pie metaphor works throughout the book and helps readers see the different parts of life and learn to appreciate the messy, gooey, delicious ones rather than covet the neat at pretty pies, I mean, lives.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be an interesting mix of advice. Samantha Ettus invites you to look at life as a pie and consider all the parts as separate and yet at times overlapping. She suggests living a full life by working towards all parts of your life. I found it to have some good thoughts but I fundamentally disagree that our fiscal value is the only consideration to make when it comes to work.

[Amanda Peppercorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book-- bold and insightful, written by a strong advocate of women's role in modern society.

[BookTrib.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped us so much! Check out our full review here: https://booktrib.com/2016/09/the-pie-...

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Pie Lifeby Samantha Ettus is very well written & interesting. I loved the book and found them applicable to my life. Highly recommend!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read part of it, has good advice, I just couldn't get into it.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a nice book for moms, not so much for the single gal. I bought it as part of a set with a planner.

[Marisa Vasselli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for the goal setting and the hard look it made me take at my life slices. A perfect read for the end of 2021 as we all look towards 2022 with optimism.

[Rachelashapiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw Samantha speak at a women's luncheon and she was fabulous so I wanted to read her book. I found that her presentation was basically a "light" version of the book. Although I am not a mom, there were still nuggets in her book / presentation that resonated with me. If you are a working mom, I recommend you read this book.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Samantha Ettus is clearly a very successful and happy woman - and her family and friends are apparently happy, too. So I'm not going to bash her for using the system she writes about in this book - it works for her. And maybe it works for others.

For me? It really wasn't that helpful. A lot of her suggestions simply don't apply to me. For example, I work from home and my children are homeschooled. So her claim that you should find hair stylists, dentists, doctors, etc. in the "Golden Triangle" of the area between your home, your work, and your children's school just doesn't work for me - and her guarantee that you can find them in the triangle is absolutely laughable, as that would mean I could find them in my living room. There are areas where the things she says just seem downright ... weird to me. A statement in one section that she got over her guilt at missing her child's event because she knew she was helping hundreds of women by being at her business even - I just can't ever imagine prioritizing other people over my child like that. I'm not saying she shouldn't have gone to her event, but I can't imagine feeling better about leaving my child and disappointing my child by thinking of the other people I'm helping - not unless I'm a doctor literally saving someone's life.

It's also quite geared toward married moms. I'm a single mom, so I ended up skimming over some fairly large chunks that weren't applicable to me. I also found myself rather annoyed at one section in which she's referring to getting help from your partner by saying something along the lines of, "You can't do all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, childrearing and work, and still be a happy person." While I get that the point of that was to say that your partner should help you if you have one, it puts a whole chunk of the population (and her readers) on the defensive. I'm a single mother, who does all of those things, and I'm quite happy. A partner may take some of the load, but that doesn't automatically equate to a happier me.

There were some useful bits of information, but overall, I really kind of feel like I wasted a week on this book. It wasn't as helpful to me as I'd hoped it might be. But if you're a married, working mom, it might be right up your alley.

[Sally Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished an early copy of this book a couple days ago and found the author's formula - I suppose I should say "recipe" - for how to manage the various elements of my life to be rather inspiring. I particularly enjoyed reading real-life accounts of how women I can relate to have addressed some of their more challenging issues around work, love, children, etc.

What I found most intriguing was that the author prescribes a way in which to create order out of chaos, and gives me a sense of how best to prioritize all the things competing for my time on a daily basis. And there's enough flexibility in the recipe to allow everyone to adjust it to their taste.

I also liked the workbooks at the end of the chapters - they were helpful in forcing me to think about the implications of the content on my own life before blindly moving on with the next sections of the book.

Overall it's an easy read, with a good mix of personal anecdotes and real-world advice to make your life just a little bit better, which is the most I can ask of any book.

[Andreanolon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had some valuable ideas and definitely a personal perspective of what works for the author in her life. I'm glad I read it, and find myself discussing it with others, but I have very different priorities, a very different life and would divide my pie differently too. I thought the writing and research (compared with The Happiness Project for example) was disappointing. I was hoping for more options and insights- not just one person's view of why her life is so successful. I don't recommend it- unfortunately.

[Kathleen Duffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

*NetGalley ARC

While I enjoyed this book, I found myself skimming over semi-large portions. As a 20-something without a family in tow, the advice often didn't apply to me. Middle-aged parents would likely find helpful insight re: effective time management skills and positive thinking.

I'd love to give this book another read in 20 years to see how my perspective changes!

[Letitia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very practical. authentic and hopeful.

I chose this book as I am a life coach and always looking for new principles to recommend. I ended up liking it very much for my own needs, especially the second half of the book. I will not only recommend it but keep reviewing my own " pie slices."

[Varsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had this book 15 years ago as I started my career. This is a book for both women AND the men. I appreciate the change in the narrative of how we look at our lives. It's not about "balance", but slices of a pie, which is more reflective of how we live at any given time.

[Celena Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the helpful and easy to put into practice ideas provided in this book...as well as the personalized stories shared. I'm reminded of how freeing it is to let loose all the control, share it, pay no mind to whether something is done differently, instead to notice and appreciate the fact that it's getting done.

[Stephanie Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a human who woke up in the middle of the night and blew through this book; due to the addictive and honest text it contained. I think every person can relate to this and learn from it, though it was obviously written for a woman. A balanced life is not the same balance the status quo lays out for us, we have our own needs, regardless of societal generalizations.