The Diva Doctrine by Patricia V. Davis

Patricia V. Davis, a fifty-something woman with two failed marriages, conflict with her parents, and issues with her sibs and sons, blogged as the Expert at Failed Relationships. In her interaction with readers and other bloggers she was struck by how the lack of self-esteem led women to make wacky decisions.

She, feeling she'd learned quite a lot about bad decisions from her own life, wrote a blog entry called "From an Older Woman to a Younger One."  This piece, dedicated to a young Indian woman and fellow blogger who lacked confidence to see how special she really is, went viral. Women all over the world forwarded it to friends and family. If you received it, you probably sent it on too. It's good stuff. Everyone told her she should write a book. That's not always a great idea. Lots of books cover material that can be dealt with in a magazine or blog entry. And there are magazine articles that seem to be stretched out paragraphs or tweets.

With The Diva Doctrine, Ms. Davis proves that some blog entries are rich enough to fill a book with stories, insights, and good advice. You can read the blog post, but if you stop there, you'll miss a lot. Her definition of Diva, "a woman who's clever, confident, classy, powerful, passionate and compassionate," adds dimension to her guidance. And her original ten points have grown to 16. Her reflections on what a friend is and isn't and her advice regarding parents and parenting are worth reading and remembering. She has also added a section on "Grown-up Goddessness," which can be attained by "True Divas" when they turn fifty. It's all about "being healthy in mind, and spirit."

A quick read with stories that will stay with you and make you rethink your own actions as well as those of people around you. Her casual tone, sense of fun and her confidence that we can all attain this "True Diva" status pulls this book out of "how-to" and makes it a clear "to-do."