Author: Brent W. Bost, M.D., FACOG

 ISBN: 0-07-144577-3

The following review was contributed by: S.V. SWAMY:  CLICK TO VIEW S.V. Swamy's Reviews

I was intrigued about the title and set out to find out what the good doctor
meant by that. And I am really happy that I read this book, courtsey
McGraw-Hill. Though I am a man, I could relate to many points explained by Dr.
Bost in the book since my own wife was and is going through some of the symptoms
so vividly described. And, as Dr.Bost explains, there are many symptoms common
to both sexes, caused by too much hurry and worry. My spiritual mentor who is
also an Ayurvedic Healer always refers to the three ingredients of several
health problems: hurry, worry and curry, the last referring to the spicy food
which is consumed for stimulation and for satisfaction of the taste buds.

The book deals with the group of symptoms (that is why the Syndrome comes into
use) commonly affecting a large number of women in USA (and probably many other
developed and developing countries too). The Hurried Woman Syndrome deals with
the adverse effects of chronic stress produced by trying to do too many things
at a time, typical of a successful life.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part, titled, "UNDERSTANDING
HURRIED WOMAN SYNDROME" has 5 chapters: 1) Life as a Hurried Woman 2) Stress and
How it Affects Your Brain and Your Life 3) Are You a Hurried Woman? 4) Using
Cognitive-Behavioral Coping Skills and 5) The Role of Antidepressants.

I learnt a lot and also got confirmation of some ideas which were building up in
my own mind over the course of the last few years.

The Second Part is "YOUR SEVEN-STEP PLAN FOR BETTER LIFE BALANCE" and consists
of 8 chapters (yes, not seven as is obviously expected!). They are:

6) Step 1 - Create Balance in your Body 7) Step 2 - Find the Right Caloric
Balance 8) Step 3 - Exercise, No Matter What! 9) Get Started on the Program (I
thought that by that time, the reader is already on the program) 10) Step 4 -
Rekindling the Fire 11) Step 5 - Identify your Priorities and set Reasonable
Limits 12) Step 6 - Get the Best of Stress and finally 13) Step 7 - Organise
Your world.

Two Appendices and a Index follow. A fairly comprehensive coverage and a good
road map for a workable program.

The book is VERY WELL WRITTEN and is highly readable. And as is to be rightly
expected from McGraw-Hill, very well edited. However, as a Quality Assurance
Professional and as an Editor, I was delighted that I could catch a few slips!
But let me hasten to assure you that the book is of real quality and you will
get the message clearly. The printing is good and the readability is good. The
conversational style adopted is quite effective.

The author sticks to mainstream medical knowledge and suggests
cognitive-behavioral therapy and herbs as adjunct or alternative for treatment
of depression. He doesn't advocate the several alternative / complementary
treatment options for stress and depression. In a way, that is to be expected
since he has been trained in the mainstream medicine and also since he got good
results with a number of his clients with the program suggested.

The book is very informative and will help not only the Hurried Woman but also
her harried family members (yes, every one suffers when the lady of the family
suffers, husband, children, even parents, friends etc.), recognise the hurried
woman amongst them and help her. Just check out the first and the third chapter.
If you recognise yourself or your wife/mom/sister etc., in that description, I
would recommend that you go ahead and buy/gift the book. It may just be right
thing that the doctor has prescribed. However, like all books of self-help, you
need to practise what is written. Reading and understanding is the preliminary
step.