The Girl's Guide: Getting the hang of your whole complicated, unpredictable, impossibly amazing life

(Paperback)

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Description

A colossal cheat sheet for a young womans post-uni years, completely updated to reflect todays digitally engaged, globally connected culture, including the most up-to-the-minute websites, apps, and other digital conveniences. All the needs of the modern girlfrom the benefits of a good Super plan to the pleasure and pain of dating (and why its not a clich to love yourself first), from figuring out what to wear to a job interview to the delicate enterprise of defriendingare addressed in one lively volume. Its all here: how to clean up your digital reputation, negotiate a salary you deserve, text and date without going bananas, save some money while still having fun. Theres practical advice, like how to stock your pantry and store vegetables and fruits. There are tips for maintaining the relationships that mean the most to you: how to survive a visit to your parents and how to make friends in a new city. Throughout the book, Melissa shares the expertise of authorities in every field: in the relationships chapter, sex experts Em & Lo talk straight (and also LGBTQIA) on between-the-sheets matters. The chapter on health and wellness includes advice from an internist, psychotherapists, a nutritionist, a practitioner of Chinese medicineand more. Its all the solid information needed delivered in Melissa Kirschs fresh, personal, funny voice, as if your best and smartest friend were giving you the best and smartest advice in the world.

Reviews

Praise for The Girls Guide to Absolutely Everything


From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review.As a former senior producer at Oxygen Media and author of their Ask Princess advice column, Kirsch specializes in helping young women face the challenges of life in the real world. Here she's compiled information and advice in a common-sensible, funny and easy-to-read primer on all aspects of life for women in their 20s and 30s, deftly organized into 10 chapters covering health, work, money, manners, friends, love, family, spirit, home and fashion. Nothing is off limits, from Home Ec for Modern Times (including the rationale behind nude tub-scrubbing) to romance and its subsidiaries (such as Non-Goal-Oriented Sex). Kirsch is fond of using lists and charts to compliment the text, such as her handy stain remover chart and her Woman's Sexual Bill of Rights, and she includes a liberal sprinkling of funny and insightful quotes from regular gals. Especially helpful are her chapter on "The Company You Keep," with advice on rooming, traveling and growing with friends, and her thorough look at money and finances. While some of this information is old hat, it's delivered in a welcoming and comprehensive package, making it a standout in a crowded field as well as an ideal gift.

From Library Journal
Starred Review. One would be hard-pressed to come up with a more accurate title for this comprehensive guide. Kirsch, a former producer at Oxygen Media, provides a wealth of advice for women in their twenties and thirties on everything from body image and friendship to first jobs and money. For each subject, she includes pertinent articles and diagrams as well as relevant web sites and phone numbers. She shares handy tips on how to choose a credit card, whom and how much to tip, and how to get criticized without bursting into tears. Her well-designed book is pleasurable to read and encourages healthy, responsible behavior. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries.


A veritable bible.
Newsday

This is the first book to explain such critical subjects as a Roth IRA and a bikini wax with equal clarity. Its funny, irreverent, wise, thorough, and empowering. Women of any age will find this book incredibly helpful. Its like having a guru girlfriend who wont make you feel dumb for asking the questions you dont want to admit you dont knowI laughed out loud. And couldnt agree more.
Rosalind Wiseman, author ofQueen Bees and Wannabes

Everything you wish your big sister or best friend had told you about navigating the real world.
Jennifer Weiner, author of All Fall Down

Author Bio

Melissa Kirsch is a former senior producer at Oxygen Media and writer of advertising copy. She has written for New York, National Geographic Traveler, Nerve, Ladies Home Journal, and ScientificAmerican.com, and has consulted as an expert on relationships and etiquette for Glamour, Jezebel, and Cosmopolitan. She is an editor and contributor to the online magazine Caf, which will launch in September 2014.