Next Gen +: books

by Michelle Obama

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So it turns out there’s a reason why this is the best selling book of 2018 despite only being released last month, and that is that it’s awesome!

Obama has a way of writing that makes her message clear, insightful and life-affirming all at once. I love the tripartite way in which she sections the book so that you understand how she first became who she is, then a wife and now a public figure. Like her husband in ‘Dreams of my father’ which I’ve also read, she is able to cogently explain how race and gender colours every action, so that she felt she was held to a different (higher) standard.

​For anyone who has ever wondered if s/he is enough – read this.

Parting fact: Michelle has now been voted the most admired woman in the world (yet still manages to suffer from imposter syndrome)!

Devon Kennard, Next Gen GP London

by Valerie Young

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“It’s only because they like me. I was in the right place at the right time. I just work harder than the others. I don’t deserve this. It’s just a matter of time before I am found out. Someone must have made a terrible mistake.”

Chances are this internal monologue sounds all too familiar. And you’re not alone.

​Although I’ve been aware of the impostor syndrome for years, after reading this I not only understand the history and context of it so much better, but believe this book could inspire fellow sufferers to take some action. Just the act of reading it has already helped me, and it has some practical exercises and questions that I think I can use going forwards. I found myself highlighting so many pages in agreement…I highly recommend it for any women who ever find themselves feeling like a fraud. And men too!

“Everyone loses when you play small,” she writes. “There are people out there this very minute who want and deserve to benefit from your full range of knowledge, abilities, and skills.”

Nish Manek, Next Gen GP Cambridgeshire