all things at onceI have just finished reading All Things at Once by Mika Brzezinski.

Name sound a little bit familiar?

Currently, she is the co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” with Joe Scarborough, but she also happens to be the daughter of Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security advisor, during the Jimmy Carter administration. Her book, says The New York Times Book Review,  “is a candid and inspiring motivational book that will help women of all ages confront the unique professional and personal challenges they face in the key moments of their lives.” In other words, she throws in her 2 cents on how or if a woman actually can have it all! She has a very strong voice but doesn’t preach, all the while stating very clearly how her own drive to achieve success professionally and personally led her through some very dark times. As a motivational speaker, she talks to girls and women of all ages about adjusting their expectations and ambitions as well as giving practical advice on accomplishing as much as possible.

She became somewhat infamous in June of 2007, when she refused to read a report about Paris Hilton’s release from jail. One hour later during another news break, her producer again pushed the story as the lead, ranking it over a story having to do with a development concerning President Bush and the Iraq war. After several sarcastic remarks from host Joe Scarborough, she attempted to light the story’s script on fire on the air! She then tore up the script. The incident was quickly popularized on the Internet, and in the days that followed Mika received large quantities of fan mail supporting her on-air protest as a commentary on the tension between ‘hard news’ and ‘entertainment news’.

Don’t you just love that???

Initially, I was more interested in her background than her subject matter. She has wonderful stories of growing up with her brilliant father and artistic mother who she lovingly describes as eccentric! Being European, her parent’s attitude on raising children is in stark contrast to today’s. Now, it seems, we are more inclined to be less stringent and have lower expectations. We want our children to be huge successes but are afraid to put too many demands or restrictions on them! They, on the other hand, expected their children to be very independent, interesting and knowledgeable about the world around them. There was no television to distract them from the myriad of projects and interests they pursued. The children were always included at their parents’ dinner parties for dignitaries around Washington and beyond. Mika tells several great stories about some of those occasions and I loved her account of playing with Amy Carter in the White House and how Rosalyn was always running after her trying to wash her face!

I found her mother to be especially interesting. Her name is Emilie Benes Brzezinski. She is a sculptor and a grandniece of Czechoslovakia’s former president Edvard Benes. It is from her that Mika is primed to search out the highs and lows of a life passionately invested in both family and career. When her father was named national security advisor, the family moved to Washington, leaving her mother’s studio far behind in Englewood, New Jersey, where her father had taught at Columbia. Emilie put her career on hold for those four years and was very open to her children about the personal struggle that caused her. Later, she returned to her art but that dilemma is obviously one every generation of women has confronted.

This book is a quick read but an enjoyable one, especially if you are a young woman in the throws of figuring out this ever present balancing act!

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