Rating: 
Summary: Practical, realistic, and uplifting
Review: "Wishcraft" knocked my socks off many years ago. While this didn't pack the same punch for me, I still recommend it heartily as a follow-up to the previous book: she builds upon its insights to offer eminently practical help for discovering what you want in life. I like Sher's approach for two reasons: (1) she makes it clear that achieving what you want in life doesn't necessarily shape itself neatly into "career" (a common mistake in career and life-planning books), and (2) she recognizes that not everyone has one GRAND passion; some people are generalists by nature, and that's just as valid (and achievable!) a way of life. Her down-to-earth and realistic approach is refreshing, and she makes no extravagant promises. In fact, her books WILL change your life -- but only because she's shown you that you know what you're looking for, and just need some practical guidance about how to find it!
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Summary: Where has this book been all my life?
Review: I have imagined myself doing thousands of different careers, but the interest in each career would fade as fast as it appeared. Each day was a new idea. Then I found this book and couldn't put it down. It helped me realize the patterns and interests I had all my life, but never pursued as a career. I just didn't have a formula to create a career out of what makes me the happiest. How to do find your life's desire when you feel so confused? The answer: Get this book. The exercises, when done honestly, really help flush out all the garbage you have learned along the way on what you "should" be doing versus what you need to do deep down inside. The author focuses a little much on blaming parents and other significant figures we have had in our lives, but they did only as well as they could. Each chapter, even if they don't entirely relate to you, teaches you something about life and the choices you have made. This book is practical and thought provoking. It really got me excited about finally living my dream. Here I go! A must read!
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Summary: Hit home, unlike other books on uncertainty
Review: I LOVED this book. The only book on finding a career direction that has been helpful to me. It was so different, in the way that it explained to me what has been blocking me from going after my true desires. The other books I have read just did a bunch of career assessments and personality assessments. Who needs that? I know my personality already, I don't need someone to test me on it. Barbara Sher went so deep into a person and why their desires remain repressed. She had different chapters for different types of situations. It was like a personalized book. I highly recommend this book. It gets to the root of the problem, and motivates you to get out there and go after what you want. She tells you to start NOW, which is scary, but that is what is stopping you...the scare. Buy this one...I promise, you will be glad you did!!
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Summary: If you're ready for a change, Sher shows you how
Review: Maybe you're just out of college wondering how you ended up with a business degree when you hate business. Or you've been spending way too much time on the job/in life daydreaming about some other job or life. Or maybe, like me, all seems right with your world, but you have a nagging feeling there's something else you should be doing. Barbara Sher's book will help you sort it all out. She'll help you figure out what's at the root of these feelings and how to understand and handle them. Through a series of exercises, explanations and examples she guides you to discover just what it is that you truly want to do. And then she shows you how to get to do what you want. You have to be ready to do a little psychological work on yourself, think hard about your past and realistically about your future. You have to be ready to put aside the excuses and fears, and Sher knows them all, and commit yourself to working towards the life you want to live. If you're looking for something easier, like tests or checklists to tell you what you should be doing, this book might not sound like it's for you. But buy it anyway. I read all the books with the tests, the checklists, the affirmations and the goal making, etc... and they got me nowhere. This book finally got me somewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Help for the vocationally clueless
Review: A lot of people had told Barbara Sher that her book "Wishcraft," about getting what you want, was of little use to them because they didn't know what they wanted. So she wrote this book for those of us who need help figuring out what we want. After three introductory chapters, the remaining eleven chapters discuss eleven different forms of resistance to knowing what you want. I suspect that most readers will, as I did, find a few of the chapters especially relevant and won't bother reading past the opening sentences of some other chapters. I particularly related to the chapters about being afraid to commit to something prematurely, and about not being interested in anything at all. There's also a chapter for you if you're afraid to take risks; if you're afraid of succeeding and leaving your loved ones behind; if you want too many different things; if you're succeeding spectacularly at something you don't really want; if you feel that what you really want is trivial or unworthy; if you've just been through a big life change and don't know what to do next; if you had a dream but it's become unattainable; if you resist doing anything ordinary or mundane; and if you're trying hard to love something you don't really want.
Rating: 
Summary: If you have to start from the beginning, I'm all for it
Review: I haven't finished the book yet, but... I am a 22 year old 5th year junior in college, and for the longest time I haven't had the slightest clue what's wrong with me. I find this book very emotionally challenging, and use it for just that: a challenge. I agree that it is rather vague, but there are some of us who have to start from scratch on this sort of thing. I DID NOT find Parachute to be at all helpful (after spending several weeks on it) for the simple fact that *I don't know what I want*! That was a very frustrating feeling, and this book speaks my particular situation. I got a little turned off by the positive-attitude thing; after a while I just didn't want to listen to it any more. I'm VERY glad I'm not listening to this on tape. Not for the very experienced, I imagine, but definitely for me, as a rock-bottom-ground-floor beginner.
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Summary: Helpful in taking that first step around resistance
Review: This is a book that has received mixed reviews by readers. Some perhaps are insulted about it's hand-holding approach, others perhaps are offended by its "overly ying" encouragement for expressing emotions.
I can only say that I related fully with this book. It confronted me with my resistance, and encouraged me gently to face up to it. My immediate reaction was wishing the people around me had also read this book, because it was still very difficult speaking with them about dispelling the rat-race mentality. Being from Latin America, the tendency to pigeonhole people around their first career is much stronger than in industrialized countries, which makes the pressures against changing careers that much greater.
My only regret with this one is having lent it out too soon, after reading through it only once, but I was in that much of a hurry to share the inspiration!
The lessons from the book, in any case, have stayed with me, more than 5 years after reading it. I still suggest some of the exercises from it on ocassion, to to loved ones who can't quite face up to their displeasure with their "established" careers.
I am tempted to buy another copy soon, to hand over once again. I kind of like the feeling of seeing my friends getting started on their own gentle awakenings.
Rating: 
Summary: Avoid it, there exists better offers
Review: This trash is self-help at its worst. It makes Dr. Phil and Jerry Springer seem solid and sincere. Yuck. Avoid at all costs (how was I coerced into buying this?)
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read, But Not Specific Enough To Really Help
Review: I purchased and read this book two years ago when I decided that I did not like my current job, but had no idea what it was that I wanted to do instead of my current job. The book is a good read, and it has a lot of exercises that I did, but after all that work, I felt like I got absolutely nowhere. I even attended one of Barbara Sher's seminars and exchanged telephone numbers and e-mail addresses, so that we could set up support groups that are mentioned in the book as a way of goal setting towards a new job. What was really silly and somewhat amusing was that I had this group of women sending me e-mails about where they wanted to eat lunch, which was the top priority on the agenda, and how their hair would be styled when we met. Finally, someone replied by e-mail saying "Please take me off of your e-mailing list. Your e-mails do not seem anything like support." After that, I pretty much forgot about Barbara Sher, her seminar, and her book. If you want to get a feel for what type of career advice, and career counseling is out there, you may want to set aside time to read this book, because it may give you some ideas. I would not recommend spending all that time on working on the written assignments, unless you feel that what you have read is worth pursuing. The problem with the book, and with the writing excercises is that it does not offer any specifics in locating your true interests, and once you find out what they are, what you should do next. A support group can be handy, but not if it is a group of people more concerned with which restaurant where they should be eating lunch. I would much rather have a career counselor that truly knows what my interests are, along with people that I have taken the time to interview in detail to find out more about the field, and what jobs are available.
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Summary: Helpful but
Review: I just finished reading this book and I can say It is helpful. The only thing I can say that made me want to put this book down is that the author constantly makes an assumption that the reader is a woman. If you are a man and you read this assumptin that you are in fact a woman you start to get he feeling that this book is not a book for you. If you can get past this flaw like I did I beleive that this book can be helpful. It will not make you get off your butt to get started but It will help you realize that your not the only one out there with these problems of not knowing what to do next.
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