🤦‍♀️You fell short Zibby Owens!

An open letter on my disappointment and how we can turn it around

Oh, Zibby! Your new book “Bookends: A memoir of love, loss, and literature” looked to be right up my alley! Described as “A deeply personal memoir about one woman’s journey to finding her voice and rewriting her story.” I could not wait to read this. We seem to all be in a crisis of confidence and looking for affirmation of our own stories and next chapters. As you know, Monumental Me is about finding your voice through identifying your strengths and The Mindshare Podcast is about people sharing their journeys to success and through major life changes and disappointments. Your book would fit right into my recommended essential read for my ventures and our MM community. Your reputation as funny and relatable preceded you and I couldn’t wait to hear your personal evolution and where you are now in your story.

Choosing your next chapter?

“I’m hoping my crazy little life story will help others out there. I mean, if I can do all of this, anyone can.” - Zibby Owens

Zibby, first, I completely disagree with your sentiment above, you are not the every-woman, yet we do walk in tandem on so many levels: finding your career passion and purpose in mid-life, from slogging through a really tough MBA experience interrupted by personal loss to starting your own business and working in publishing, to reaching out to women to offer support and community when they most need it (especially while in the depths of motherhood and experiencing your relatable sense of oppression within the anxiety-ridden world of modern parenting and of those who understand the expense of “having it all” with career and kids), to moderating and understanding life through the solace of reading at every chance you get, to managing grief and loss through writing and sharing, to being a product of divorced parents from a young age, and of course, in sharing a membership to the super cool Generation X. We are so on the same wavelength! Twinsies.

Er, almost.

We just don’t share the same early life experience and place in NY high society because you are the daughter of billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Blackstone Inc., and well… I am not. But this is something even cooler about you. Regardless of this privilege, you are hard-working, keen to find your work calling, open and honest about your struggle with depression and self-confidence, and so I hear, a super-friendly “cheerleader” for other people’s success. I commend how you use your connections and social standing for the greater good.

And then I finished your book. I wanted more. You fell short Zibby Owens! Only because you have SO much potential to keep on giving. So much potential from what you learned from your trials of “love, loss, and literature.” I can forgive you the complete lack of any expansion on the many books you name and state you have read throughout your 40+ years, the titles of modern literature were simply sprinkled throughout your book, but there was no discussion of your learning, no “how-to” for the regular woman, no “try this” and you will thank me. You share that your “success itself is intoxicating,” and I want to hear more! There was no real reflection as to how you have grown, what your decision-making process was, and what you can teach others. I bet that comes through in your podcast, doesn’t it? I know how “intoxicating” it is to hear from someone who took the time to not only listen and absorb but also provide feedback on how your voice and discussion impacted them. What they learned from your experience and your rapport with your guest.

So, I am going to stick to your podcasts Zibby. It’s my second favorite way to learn and grow.

🧡Liana

P.S. And I can’t leave you without a tool, check out our Removing Your Roadblocks program introduction below. This program could just help you or a friend rewrite your story.

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More information and register here: https://bit.ly/RemoveYourRoadblocks