December 2nd, 2009
Inspiring Women: Seven Questions with Author Susan Shapiro Barash
Give us your “Elevator” Speech as to WHO you are and WHAT it is that you do for a “living”. And how should we “know” you?
I write nonfiction women’s issue books, and teach writing and gender studies at Marymount Manhattan College in NYC. You might know some of my more recent books, Tripping the Prom Queen: The Truth About Women and Rivalry and Little White Lie, Deep Dark Secrets: The Truth About Why Women Lie.
Tells about your path to getting to where you are with your business today.
It’s been a journey to get to where I am today and I never gave up. Some book deals are easier to come by than others, but one has to keep pushing. I’ve always wanted to be a writer and have been fascinated by the lives women lead in America versus the faces they wear since I was in high school. I always knew I’d research and write books about women’s choices and how the culture influences their behaviors and decisions. My latest book, my eleventh, comes out from St. Martin’s Press on October 13th. It’s called Toxic Friends: The Antidote for Women Stuck In Complicated Friendships.
What is your personal “motto” or “mission statement”?
My intention is and has been to uncover how women really feel. And to this end, the interviewees are promised anonymity and they are free to disclose their experiences with their husbands, lover, children, friends, sisters, mothers in law…It’s amazing what is told when there are no judgments or preconceived notions attached.
Besides your business, what are you passionate about?
Reading books and research, swimming and running, film and art.
What advice would you give to other women wanting to follow your career path?
Becoming a writer is not a gender biased career, as are some careers (being a surgeon, being a CEO of a company, advertising). So if a woman wants to write and publish books (and is compelled to write), there is no glass ceiling, and every opportunity is there for her.
Pimp yourself! Where can we find you on the web, in bookstores, at the movies, on TV, etc?
You can find me on my website: www.SusanShapiroBarash.com. My new book, Toxic Friends, hits the bookstores in a few days and it’s already on sale on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. I usually do national TV and radio to promote my books. And if you look up the New York Post from this past Sunday, there’s a spread about toxic friends based on my research.
What question should we have asked, that we didn’t? Now is YOUR opportunity to tell us what we missed!
I think this about covers it.
