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Doing it all is realistically not an option. But I've found these four books tremendously helpful in giving it a shot.

Read on for (at least a small measure of) happiness, financial peace, parental well-being and post-feminist soothing. 

As DPPL's head of marketing and communications I spend a lot of time writing about the library.

But I'm a huge library user in "real" life as well and am excited about the chance to write about “my" library on this blog.

There are as many different DPPLs as there are people with library cards.

My DPPL and blog posts will center on areas I read deep in that haven't gotten so much coverage on our site in the past:  interior design, fashion, women’s issues, mommy issues, career development, health and (ahem) diet and the whole self-help/personal development categories.

First up, some books I have read that have struck a chord for me.

I have had a really (really, really, really) challenging couple of months juggling work and home commitments.  I'm never going to be a "wonder woman", and I'm OK with that.

But I try and do the best job I can, in as many areas of my life as I can.

All these books helped.

Have you read any books lately that have really struck a chord? Helped you manage your wonder woman complex?  Please share.

Wonder Women: Sex, Power and the Quest for Perfection

by Debora L. Spar

I’ve been ‘that’ woman. You know, the one who believes they had be it all to be a "success".  I’m kind of reformed (and saner) these days but still can’t help feeling I need to be doing more (see my list of areas I read deeply in above).  I found this book fascinating because it speaks so directly the ‘why’s of a generation of women raised to think just like me. Spar delivers no clear solutions but she holds up a mirror into which I took a good hard look. And that’s a step in the right direction.

Happier at Home

by Gretchen Rubin Craft 

One of my key beliefs is that happiness is a choice, not a destination or something bestowed upon you.  Or as I tell my kids, "you are in charge of you".  This book—a followup to Rubin's best selling The Happiness Project book and website—is surprisingly practical, and really drives home the notion that you control your happiness, happiness does not control you.  It’s broken into easy to read chapters. I read my copy at the pool over several weeks this past summer – happiness right there.

The Debt-Free Spending Plan: An Amazingly Simple Way to Take Control of your Finances Once and for All 

by JoAnneh Nagler

This book was revolutionary for me.  I’ve always had a "thing" about money and finances. Didn’t want to think about it. Very productive for an adult woman, ahem.  One day I woke up and realized that 75% of all my stress was from not knowing (and knowing I didn’t know and should know) what was going on with our money and debt. I literally checked out and read twenty books on the subject and this one was the very best. Not any kind of heavy duty investing stuff.  Just a practically laid out and do-able plan for systematically eliminating your debt and living within your means. I'm following the plan and can confidently announce today that on September 18, 2016, I will be (well mostly) debt-free.  It seems a long way off, but a lot closer than the NEVER I thought before. What a relief.

Little Girls Can Be Mean: Four Steps to Bully-Proof Girls in the Early Grades

by Michelle Anthony M.A., PhD. and Reyna Lindert, PhD. 

I admit it. I’m terrified of bullying and what will happen if it ever becomes an issue for my girls, who are 7 and 9. This book addresses head on the factors that come into play in the early K–5 grades.  Again, lots of very specific and practical advice on helping your elementary age girls navigate friendship issues, cliques and bullying. Lots of great insight into the social structure of young girls and where girls learn their behaviors (hint: apples don't fall from trees) too. Best of all, it lays out a plan that will help you become a problem-solving partner with your daughter, a dynamic that will serve  you well through the tweens, teens and beyond.