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As someone who is fascinated by anyone who has reinvented themselves, I was eager to learn the details of Leeza Gibbons’ transformation. Remembering her as a beautiful and successful television entertainment news host, I wanted to know what prompted her metamorphosis and how she was able to embrace change.

Leeza explains in the book’s introduction that her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease forced her to re-examine her feelings, fears, and truths. Together with other life experiences, (including divorce, raising children, and building a business) such challenges led her to write a “Transformation Proclamation,” a powerful statement taking charge of her life and refusing to merely let it happen to her. Subsequent chapters detail the lessons she has learned along the way and her advice to women who want or need their own do-over.

Self-love is the focus of the first chapter. Leeza describes how to become your own best friend and the value of doing so. She then suggests ways of modifying our orientation toward change, since we typically fear it even though change is inevitable.

“Surviving and even thriving through change depends on your ability to search out the good and work with what you have…change is an introduction to your higher self…” This rang true as I thought about losing my young adult son nearly two years ago, and my ever-evolving acceptance of his death. Although it was excruciatingly unwelcome change, I ultimately refused to feel victimized and reclaimed my right to a good life even with the pain of devastating loss.

Leeza discusses fear and courage. She states, “Having courage doesn’t mean you’re not afraid; it just means you’re determined to continue in spite of your fear…change is an inevitable sure thing but growth is the part of change where many people opt out.” Growth through change has been a hallmark of my experience and this resonated deeply.

Chapter 7’s focus on spirituality was especially meaningful to me. Without endorsing any religion at all, Leeza encourages us to search for meaning in our lives and to cultivate courage, patience, and commitment. She suggests developing a connectedness to others and doing good work that lasts. She discusses serenity, focus, core values, and intention. And there is a lovely section on mindfulness, hope, gratitude, and the role of memories and traditions.

Chapter 9’s charge to “Know where you’re going, look good when you get there,” surprisingly lost my interest. Leeza defines beauty as “a fierce combination of strength and grace wrapped up in the best possible physical package,” and she includes advice on skin care, nails, make-up, hair, fashion, weight, and exercise. Although I certainly acknowledge the importance of self-care, these lessons seemed frivolous to me compared to her previous guidance. It was heartening, then, to read her concluding view that beauty is being “lit from within by the knowledge and fulfillment of knowing who you are and being firmly on your own path…”

There are two types of reasons to seek a life “reset.” One is when you’d like to move through life differently and the other is when you have to do so. I recommend this book to women who already feel motivated to improve their lives and are looking for inspiration and structure to go forward. Women who find themselves in devastating circumstances that require unwelcome change may need a more therapeutic approach that addresses coping and healing as steps toward readiness for change.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for this review. The opinions expressed are unbiased and reflect my honest judgment of the product.

The book entitled, Take 2: Your Guide to Creating Happy Endings and New Beginnings written by Leeza Gibbons was given to me by Hay House Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion of it. As an author of a personal development book, I am always interested in other books of the same genre.

Leeza has a positive, friendly and conversational tone throughout her book and I read it within days of receiving it. Though it would benefit men, it feels more in line for women audiences. There is a heavy focus on internal beauty, but does include a section on external beauty as well.

Though Leeza was a host on Entertainment Tonight television show and has met many celebrities, she doesn’t spend her energy on their personal lives. She mentions them as part of her story but in no way does it feel like she is ‘name dropping’ or using their stories to sell her book.

She seems genuinely interested in passing along information that she has learned over her life thus far and has a passion for doing so. Though the information is not new, especially if you read self-growth books regularly, she has a unique style of dispensing the information that is uplifting and inspiring.

She is a public figure, but she seems very personable and accessible with the same struggles many of us have or have had. I appreciated that her journey is similar to most women, even though we come from different backgrounds.

She has experienced divorce and the death of a parent but has turned her trials into positive outlets for growth and change. Her book centers on the lessons she has learned and the actions she has taken to improve her life.

There are many life lessons discussed in the book and they help us to see that at any age, you can redefine yourself and start over at any time.

It is worth reading and will be a helpful reminder to take ownership of your life by reclaiming your power and to look at the glass half full instead of half empty!

Have you ever felt like you needed a fresh start in life? A do-over? A chance to begin anew?

If so, entertainment icon and social entrepreneur Leeza Gibbons is here to help! In her latest book, Take 2 – Your Guide To Creating Happy Endings and New Beginnings, Leeza Gibbons shares the tips and strategies that have helped her navigate through the challenging moments of her life.

Leeza believes that taking charge of your life is a creative endeavor. The process begins with telling your story the way you want to tell it – finding the story within the story – and avoiding the “sagging middle” at all costs!

This beautiful hardcover book is filled with inspiring stories and photos from Leeza’s life. You’ll read about the lessons Leeza’s learned – the people who've encouraged her – and the activities she recommends to help you live a more fulfilling life!

Leeza shares everything from beauty tips and business tips to personal photos and weekly PreSCRIPTions – short but practical action steps to keep you focused. Reading this book is like spending a day with your own personal mentor. Her ideas and enthusiasm cannot help but rub off on you!

I really enjoyed this book, not only for the positive message it contains, but for the care and quality Hay House put into producing it.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Hay House to review. I was not compensated or required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

When I chose the Leeza Gibbons book, Take 2, I was drawn to this writer and well-known television celebrity primarily because of her philanthropic work with the Alzheimer’s Association. AD hit Leeza and her family hard in that the disease took the life of her mother. I lost my own mom this past October to this disease. My wife’s mother is in the end stage of AD, having struggled with it for the past 9 years. It was the caregiving commonality that struck a cord with me.

As a result of the caregiving work she and her family provided to her mother, Leeza founded Leeza’ Place and Leeza’s Care Connection. More information about both of these is available at Leeza’s web site: www.leezagibbons.com.

As I dug further into the book, my next impression was, Oh no, this is gonna be just a book by a woman for other women.

So then I compelled myself to read through the whole book.

Guess what? Aside from the sections devoted to women’s fashion and makeup, there was a treasure trove of empowering information for both men and women. A lot of information about self motivation, personal accountability, staying healthy, empathy and compassion towards others and finding your own spiritual purpose.

By the time I finished reading all of Leeza’s book, I discovered that I had used up two yellow-highlighter pens in my marking all of what I found were helpful passages, headlines, or just plain memorable quotes from either Leeza or those whom she admires.

Her eleven chapter book is packed with personal and professional shared experiences of both the failures and successes of this acclaimed television entertainment reporter, celebrity, mother and wife and ambitious businesswoman.

In essence, Take 2 is an instructional book on how to start and remake your life over after living your first forty or so years, although as Leeza says, it could be any age. While it is primarily directed towards women, I think many male readers will find a lot of steak and eggs content to take away for themselves in this book.

Besides what Leeza has done with respect to Alzheimer’s awareness and caregiving, I enjoyed many of the quotes she included in her book. One, dealing with our ability to change ourselves, is a Marianne Williamson quote: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

In Chapter Four, dealing with self worth, Leeza shares a great quote she used to hear from her mother while she was young. “Think of yourself as a thoroughbred, honey. Thoroughbreds don’t look at the other horses; they just run their own race.”

Chapter Six is entitled, Find Your Story, Make It Count. That chapter is best summarized as follows. Lead with your strength. Have a vision. Be gracious in your dealings with others. Stand your ground when circumstances call for it. Be good at being yourself. Take your time: let success marinate. Be coachable and open to learning from others. This was one on my favorite chapters in her book.

Next, I loved this bit of advice on living one’s life.
Show up, do your best and let go of the rest. Commit to finding humor wherever you can. Can you see the worth in all the events of the past?

And finally, also from Chapter Four, I loved this quote of contemporary wisdom:
“Give yourself credit for doing something right. You must be able to hold yourself in high regard. We are a look at me nation now more than ever, so it’s easy to dismiss our daily accomplishments as insignificant.”

The second sentence here is very much on point. We have allowed ourselves to become distracted with so many ninety day fads, unwanted intrusions into the privacy of others, and an endless stream of gawdy, bizarre and outrageous digital clips on YouTube, Pintrest, Twitter, Facebook and the like. All designed to grab your momentary attention but truly lacking in anything to do with empowering life lessons.

I recommend this book to both male and female readers. This talented celebrity author has worked in front of a camera and occupied a place on our television sets for many years. Take 2 is a book packed with personal disclosures and tips on how Leeza transformed her life for the better and how others can as well regardless of their stature or the professional field they have made a career within. Take 2 contains valuable take-aways for both men as well as women.

Jeffrey A. Dodson
March 18th 2013


FTC Disclosure: I received this book free from Hay House Publishing for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are unbiased and reflect my honest judgment of the product.

Take 2 by Leeza Gibbons is a highly empowering book for any woman wanting to change any aspect in her own life. With honesty and integrity, the author gives all women a guidebook for how she herself made changes in her own life, the trials and tribulations that she herself faced and overcame. Although many may think that celebrities have the perfect life or that money can buy you everything, Leeza proves that we are all only just human.

Similar to other authors like Cheryl Richardson and Marianne Williamson, Leeza Gibbons emphasizes the importance of women not only taking charge of their own life, but accepting responsibility for putting themselves first before others. Each chapter is a short read but packed full of personal stories and lessons learned. As well as the ways we can make changes to see a dramatic difference in our life. Her advice is both gentle and realistic.

To women looking to make a change - whether big or small - and who don't know where to start, Take 2 by Leeza Gibbons is a great book to help you get started on your new journey.

This is my review of Take 2 by Leeza Gibbons. I acknowledge that I received this book free from Hay House Publishing to review. The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment.