Pages: 190
Price: $14.95 US on www.amazon.com
To order: From amazon or your nearest discerning bookseller of refinement and good taste.

Had a tough day? Buy this book. Had a good day? Buy it anyway. You never know when a tough day's going to come.

It's been a few years now since the author, Kathleen Hawkins, and I first did it. I won't pretend otherwise - we did it almost as soon as we'd met. That's not very smart, you might say, and I agree. After all, there's plenty of scope for hurt, humiliation and regret. But Kath and I both decided it was better than paying for it, so we went for it. Call us rash, call us impatient, but we decided to try for that very special, meaningful and beautiful experience when a man and a woman, with mutual consent, decide the time has come to exchange texts. I sent her my book, and she sent me hers. And let me tell you, I'm very pleased I did. Kath gives very good text indeed.

We've been friends for a few years now, and Kath is one of the people who keep me sane, make me laugh and make life a bit sweeter than it would be otherwise. And this is one fandabadoozy book, it truly is.

Here's the deal in a nutshell. Whatever job you do, it probably drives you nuts now and again, right? There are probably times when the stress and strain really get beyond a joke. Well, Kath knows all about this, and she's written a very good and practical book about how to cope with it all. She writes like a charm, packs more personality and punch into her prose then any ten other authors you care to name, and is smart at coming up with practical ways of thinking about, and dealing with, practical problems. What more do you want?

People who know me even a little bit will perhaps be surprised that I'm recommeding a book that has the word 'spirit' in the title, since I don't have much to do with most conventional views of spirituality. Kath's is the kind of spiritual awareness which has nothing to do with any particular religious denomination or act of worship. She's just very good at providing fresh and interesting ways of looking at these problems, and all her suggestions have that satisfying 'ting' of pragmatic realism which is so often missing from books like this. Not that there are really any books like this.

I should also emphasise that Kath can write, and the book makes for very tasty reading. She's actually funnier in real life than she cares to be on the printed page, not to mention devastatingly charming, but the book's got enough of a twinkle in its eye to engage you from start to finish.

So that's it. If you have ever, in your whole life, come back from your job whacked, mad and fit to be tied, then you need to get a grip. This book will help you do it, and you'll be very pleased I introduced you to Kathleen Hawkins. And if you have anything to do with a large company or organisation, then order two or three copies and let your staff and colleagues read them - it will solve a lot of problems in the workplace before they happen.

Please do not write asking me anything else about this item. The author didn't ask me to advertise it, this is not a paid-for advert, and I make no money out of this book. I don't wish to deal with 6 questions a day about something I make no money out of.

"II yield to no one in my admiration for the office as a social centre, but it's no place actually to get any work done"
- Kathleen Whitehorn