Lady You’re Not a Man | Apurva Purohit | Book Review

SUBJECT: 3.5/5
RESEARCH: 2.5/5
WRITING STYLE: 4/5
RELEVANCE: 3.5/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3.5 /5

I recently reviewed a book by Disha Chhabra “My Beloved’s MBA Plans”, well the one I am writing this review, for now, is also on a somewhat related subject i.e. “Work-Life Balance” but here the centre focus of the discussion is the ‘modern-day working women’.

Lady, You’re Not a Man is all about what one should and should not do as a working woman. It’s a fairly good piece of advice to anyone who reads the book and follows thoroughly what is recommended in it.

Coming from a very successful woman herself, the CEO of Radio City 91.9 FM, the words should be anything but ignored.

What to expect from the book?

The answer to this is quite simple. As Apurva takes her readers to the roller coaster ride that has been her family-and-work life, she makes you laugh at the adventures she has had, and the same time makes you believe in the point she is driving home, by narrating that adventure.

It is a candid and humorous piece of work by an exceptionally talented debut author. Lady, You’re Not a Man is divided into three broad steps – Accept, Adapt and Achieve, wherein each step is explained in a detailed way with the help of chapters covering every aspect of a working woman’s life.

Be it the lazy husbands, who she quite creatively describes as the ‘TLT’ (Tauliya Lao Types), or the ones who are as bossy as ‘Amitabh Bachchan’ in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, she clearly details how to train (read manage) them well, without negatively affecting your career or disturbing your work-life balance.

Also found in the books are tips and ways to manage one’s pregnancy and the child-rearing phase. She advocates her views very strongly, urging the women to go out and work, fight for their working rights other necessary amenities to facilitate working.

But at the same time, she also urges these women not to take undue advantage of the special benefits accrued to them on account of their gender.

Whether it is taking unnecessarily long pregnancy leave or grabbing a promotion by showing a little flesh, she strongly advocates the need to stop such practices immediately.

On the fun side, she also lays her sympathy with the working man, with a 3-day paternity leave he gets to spend time with his child, and the role of the bread earner which is unconditionally, and sometimes even forcefully entrusted upon him.

Imagine the social stigma which he has to face when he chooses to look for greener (more creative) pastures instead.

Apurva makes us see our dear husbands in this light and realize that in some situations we are much better off, for at least we have a choice, we can easily chuck the office drama and the corporate race in the name of taking care of kids or family life.

So, go read Lady, You’re Not a Man written by this exceptionally talented author and discover the wisdom in her candid and humorous words.