Susan V Darden’s Life After Hair Color is the narrative telling of one woman’s journey from shoe hound, worried about appearance, colored hair and all, living according to what she perceived the social expectations of the day which included marriage, a house and children without really realizing that she may not have been living according to what might have been best for herself; to self acceptance and realization that she is stronger than she had thought.
Life After Hair Color is akin to a talk with an old and trusted friend who has experienced many of the very circumstances of life as has the reader. Such a friend does not always expect others to do everything as she does, but, because she too has been through a divorce, or a failed job, or any of the many problems which seem to dog us at one time or another in our lives from young to older; she is aware of what did or did not work for her and is willing to share what she learned without the intrusion of expecting that the reader will simply accept and try to become exactly as, and performing precisely as did the writer in similar situation.
At some time in our lives we all need such a friend. Life has a way of taking place not matter how we try to manipulate it to fit our way. I like Darden’s opening line of her Introduction; she points out that many books are available to tell the reader what they are doing wrong in life. Because the writer feels that most readers do know what is wrong in their lives she is not going to write that type of book.
Across 132 pages divided into twenty chapters Darden has crafted what she hopes is a –girlfriend- book which readers will use to begin to realize that they too can have the type of relationships they hope for and that they too are strong and capable persons.
From the opening chapter in which Darden discusses her decision to stop coloring her hair, to discussion of her marriage, shoes, to ridding her closet of the clothes that she had bought were not really hers, to the importance of being realizing self worth and having the ability to share knowledge with co workers, to engagement rings which may or not signify the love that is hoped for to the empowering gained by forgiving self, those who perceived or who have actually wronged us and realizing that life will go on even after a miserable situation has taken place; the reader finds the writer’s style to be entertaining, illuminating, and very readable.
I particularly enjoyed chapter 16 in which Darden shares the pivotal moment in her life when she realized her parents were only human.
She discusses that she was and is a Daddy’s Girl, talks of her German born mother and their life in Germany and points out her belief that father’s accept daughters as individuals easier than do mothers because fathers do not have the same preconceived ideas related to gender that mother’s may hold.
As the writer notes that her mother is a woman beset with negativity who is rarely if ever pleased with her life, children, husband, home, what her daughter does, or even what she herself does I am reminded of my own mother who was beset with many of these same problems. I like that Darden points out that there comes a time when adults simply have to move on from the time when expectation that parents not only will be there to provide happiness and approval but are responsible to do so; to recognition that it is time to begin providing happiness and approval for ones self.
I enjoyed the writer’s entertaining ruminations regarding the life teachings and provocative self examination she has acquired during her life travels. The writer has a fun, chatty writing style designed for those of us at middle age or older. Happy to recommend Susan V Darden’s Life After Hair Color
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Reviewed by: Molly’s Reviews molly martin
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Amazon Product Details
Title: Life After Hair Color
Genre: Motivational
Author: Susan V. Darden
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: AuthorHouse
1663 Liberty Drive Ste 200 Bloomington IN 47408 Language: English
ISBN-10: 1410792552
ISBN-13: 978-1410792556
Available from Amazon
============================================ Susan V. Darden was born in Germany in 1956 to an Air Force enlisted man and a German factory worker. She traveled extensively with her family throughout her childhood, finally settling in Chesapeake, Virginia in the late 1970s. Darden has lived in the Tidewater region of Virginia ever since. In addition to her writing endeavors, Darden is self-employed as a system design and accounting consultant to small businesses and individuals. She is a multi-faceted, involved individual constantly striving to learn new things and pass along her accumulated knowledge to others with a lighthearted touch. She enjoys a humorous, practical approach to most of life's challenges.
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Regis