What do you think?
Rate this book
Bossed Up: A Grown Woman's Guide to Getting Your Sh*t Together
In this candid, refreshing guide for young women to take with us as we run the world, Emilie Aries shows you how to own your power, know your worth, and design your career and life accordingly.
Young women today face an uncertain job market, the pressure to ascend at all costs, and a fear of burning out. But the landscape is changing, and women are taking an assertive role in shaping our careers and lives, while investing more and more in our community of support.
Bossed Up teaches you how
Drawing from timely research, and with personal stories, and spotlights on a diverse group of women from the Bossed Up community, this book will show you how to craft a happy, healthy, and sustainable career path you'll love.
Young women today face an uncertain job market, the pressure to ascend at all costs, and a fear of burning out. But the landscape is changing, and women are taking an assertive role in shaping our careers and lives, while investing more and more in our community of support.
Bossed Up teaches you how
Drawing from timely research, and with personal stories, and spotlights on a diverse group of women from the Bossed Up community, this book will show you how to craft a happy, healthy, and sustainable career path you'll love.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published May 21, 2019
63 people are currently reading
1669 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
Read
September 12, 2019For anyone who needs to pull themselves together, but especially young female-identifying folks wanting a roadmap to being a better, more healthy and engaged adult. I heard Emilie speak at The Lady Project Summit a few years ago and her approach is really positive, but the thing that really resonated with me then -- and in this book -- is her ability to clearly articulate the difference between being assertive and aggressive. That little nugget alone is worth the book, as it will better empower people to stand up for injustice with assertiveness.
Emilie performs the audiobook, and she does so really well.
Emilie performs the audiobook, and she does so really well.
May 12, 2019
I received an early access copy of this book weeks ago from the publisher to read and review, and it's a testament to how good this book is that it's taken me this long to finish it. There is SO MUCH useful information in here. So much good, actionable stuff to take notes on, act on, and implement in your daily life AND in your overarching goals. I read a lot of this sort of thing lately, and it's such a breath of fresh air to find a guide like this which is based in data and still so accessible. Whether you are looking for something entirely new, wanting to start a business of your own, or looking to advance in your current career, there is so much here you can learn from and build on. As part of each section, the author interviews someone who's put the advice into action, and the interviewees come from a wide variety of personal and professional backgrounds. Whoever you are, you'll find yourself in one or more of these stories, and they really do illustrate how you can start taking steps to make the changes in your life that you want. The rest of it - the actual step taking - is up to you, and that's scary, but this book is a fantastic guide to help along the way.
May 18, 2019
This book starts with the author introducing herself and confessing being a "hot mess" in recovery. Emilie (the author) talks about her personal experience trying to excel at what she did, like college assignments and planning events. She then mentions how it quickly became very hard to do once she changed college life to what she chooses to call "real life". She mentions problems about her past relationship and more personal stuff.
Chapter 1 - Combating the Martyr Mindset: Where the author introduces her mother and how she was always on overload. A very charitable nurse that works 12hs shits to this day and uses her free time to provide care for less developed countries. She mentions how her mother loved her job and career, but always overworked herself.
This chapter continues comparing her mother with numerous women that also overwork themselves. Women that have a full-time job, take care of the household and children and always choose other first. Women that leave them for last. How the modern gender roles are a mix of old fashioned ones, with women still having most of the responsibility for kids and household, but now also working outside or running their own business.
In this section of the book, I found a sentence that really touched me, paraphrasing it says that working hard is one thing, but suffering to get what you want can be a matter of intensity, and to see the difference we should ask ourselves if we are just constantly filling our plates with obligations.
The book also shares "spotlights" with personal stories of different women. These sections are highlighted to separate them from the main book content and appear thru-out the book. If you enjoy reading about personal experiences and stories, you will enjoy these section
circle
Then it continues with a section titled "back to basics" the author talks about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Very famous and present and discussed in various psychology books, and continues to talk about the earnings gap compared between genders and also between minorities. Finally featuring the very first statement about what she considers the first step of being "bossed up" which is to make sure not to overwork or overload yourself. The author presents an exercise so you can asses your needs. A very simple exercise that shows the basic needs of shelter, nutrition, meaningful work, rest, relationship, and security/safety inside a circle and you asses your feelings towards these needs.
"Bounce Back from burnout" proposes that you first need to pinpoint the cause for it. Agency, Purpose, Rest, and Community. And follows by recommending that we should replace the Martyr mindset with sustainable success.
All this is merely the contents of chapter one, and the book contains a total of 6 chapters (also introduction and closing). All of them just as full of information, advice and mainly lots of the author's opinions.
Because there is so much content I will limit myself to sharing the snippets that impressed me the most, but know that there is more to the book.
Chapter 2 - Cultivating your Boss identity: The importance of seeing yourself as the boss of your own life and decisions is the main concept discussed in this chapter that struck me the most. As this applies to everyone. You don't need to be a boss at work, to adopt the boss identity, because you can always choose to be the boss of your own life. But you will not be left alone with this process, as the author outlines another exercise to help you in this area. Also, more spotlights appear.
Chapter 3 - Progress over perfection: The title says everything. More advice, more spotlights, and exercises. The one that I appreciated the most is "Celebrate your efforts over achievements". Although I will still continue to celebrate my achievements, I found this to be fantastic advice, as I tend to oversee my efforts and only celebrate results. But we all know that big achievement doesn't come every day, but we can celebrate how many steps we gave today towards or goals or desired achievements. This is definitely a habit I plan to adopt.
Chapter 4 - Speak it, Be it: Another chapter overloaded with content. But the section I appreciated the most is "tricks of the trade" because is full of strategies and best practices. You might not agree with all of them, but is certainly good info to consider and put into perspective. I wasn't fully appreciative of the section labeled "dear white people" since it talks about certain issues that people of "color" (as she says it) have in life. To be honest, if anyone has issues, they are already aware of it. I am Latina, and I'm not blind to certain issues that seem to be common for us, but I also don't see all "white people" as bad or with privilege, while is true to some extent, absolutes are rarely encountered in this world. The term "of color" used to refer to anyone, not "white" is also a bit bothersome to me, and although this book has sections that I don't agree with, still presents various sections that are rather valuable, so I will just keep what works for me and learn to improve myself. After all, we all have issues in life, some are stereotypical, others are not. The fact is we still have to deal with them.
Chapter 5 - Be a goal digger: The power of vision, breaking down goals to steps, overall planning, and focusing on progress. More spotlights, and using your calendar as a forecasting tool. This chapter is a bit shorter than the other ones but still has great information.
Chapter 6 - Your community of courage: In this chapter, the author presents her ideas and opinions about working in the community. About how cultivating a community of supportive peers can be beneficial for you and the community itself. More spotlights with personal stories, and steps to work on community building. When referring to the community she talks about networking and other professionals, friends, and finally partners.
The conclusion is short and sweet. Is like a pep talk that tells you that is going to take some work but it can be done. It reminds you of leaving the martyr mindset and also touches on ideas presented in previous chapters. Is a mix of a good-bye and encouragement to take action.
Chapter 1 - Combating the Martyr Mindset: Where the author introduces her mother and how she was always on overload. A very charitable nurse that works 12hs shits to this day and uses her free time to provide care for less developed countries. She mentions how her mother loved her job and career, but always overworked herself.
This chapter continues comparing her mother with numerous women that also overwork themselves. Women that have a full-time job, take care of the household and children and always choose other first. Women that leave them for last. How the modern gender roles are a mix of old fashioned ones, with women still having most of the responsibility for kids and household, but now also working outside or running their own business.
In this section of the book, I found a sentence that really touched me, paraphrasing it says that working hard is one thing, but suffering to get what you want can be a matter of intensity, and to see the difference we should ask ourselves if we are just constantly filling our plates with obligations.
The book also shares "spotlights" with personal stories of different women. These sections are highlighted to separate them from the main book content and appear thru-out the book. If you enjoy reading about personal experiences and stories, you will enjoy these section
circle
Then it continues with a section titled "back to basics" the author talks about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Very famous and present and discussed in various psychology books, and continues to talk about the earnings gap compared between genders and also between minorities. Finally featuring the very first statement about what she considers the first step of being "bossed up" which is to make sure not to overwork or overload yourself. The author presents an exercise so you can asses your needs. A very simple exercise that shows the basic needs of shelter, nutrition, meaningful work, rest, relationship, and security/safety inside a circle and you asses your feelings towards these needs.
"Bounce Back from burnout" proposes that you first need to pinpoint the cause for it. Agency, Purpose, Rest, and Community. And follows by recommending that we should replace the Martyr mindset with sustainable success.
All this is merely the contents of chapter one, and the book contains a total of 6 chapters (also introduction and closing). All of them just as full of information, advice and mainly lots of the author's opinions.
Because there is so much content I will limit myself to sharing the snippets that impressed me the most, but know that there is more to the book.
Chapter 2 - Cultivating your Boss identity: The importance of seeing yourself as the boss of your own life and decisions is the main concept discussed in this chapter that struck me the most. As this applies to everyone. You don't need to be a boss at work, to adopt the boss identity, because you can always choose to be the boss of your own life. But you will not be left alone with this process, as the author outlines another exercise to help you in this area. Also, more spotlights appear.
Chapter 3 - Progress over perfection: The title says everything. More advice, more spotlights, and exercises. The one that I appreciated the most is "Celebrate your efforts over achievements". Although I will still continue to celebrate my achievements, I found this to be fantastic advice, as I tend to oversee my efforts and only celebrate results. But we all know that big achievement doesn't come every day, but we can celebrate how many steps we gave today towards or goals or desired achievements. This is definitely a habit I plan to adopt.
Chapter 4 - Speak it, Be it: Another chapter overloaded with content. But the section I appreciated the most is "tricks of the trade" because is full of strategies and best practices. You might not agree with all of them, but is certainly good info to consider and put into perspective. I wasn't fully appreciative of the section labeled "dear white people" since it talks about certain issues that people of "color" (as she says it) have in life. To be honest, if anyone has issues, they are already aware of it. I am Latina, and I'm not blind to certain issues that seem to be common for us, but I also don't see all "white people" as bad or with privilege, while is true to some extent, absolutes are rarely encountered in this world. The term "of color" used to refer to anyone, not "white" is also a bit bothersome to me, and although this book has sections that I don't agree with, still presents various sections that are rather valuable, so I will just keep what works for me and learn to improve myself. After all, we all have issues in life, some are stereotypical, others are not. The fact is we still have to deal with them.
Chapter 5 - Be a goal digger: The power of vision, breaking down goals to steps, overall planning, and focusing on progress. More spotlights, and using your calendar as a forecasting tool. This chapter is a bit shorter than the other ones but still has great information.
Chapter 6 - Your community of courage: In this chapter, the author presents her ideas and opinions about working in the community. About how cultivating a community of supportive peers can be beneficial for you and the community itself. More spotlights with personal stories, and steps to work on community building. When referring to the community she talks about networking and other professionals, friends, and finally partners.
The conclusion is short and sweet. Is like a pep talk that tells you that is going to take some work but it can be done. It reminds you of leaving the martyr mindset and also touches on ideas presented in previous chapters. Is a mix of a good-bye and encouragement to take action.
May 17, 2019
ABSOLUTE GOLD! Emilie does an amazing job of threading together storytelling, anecdotes, and hard data to truly create a roadmap for women (or anyone!) to take control of their careers and lives. She is vulnerable and shares her own struggles and pathway to and through burnout and shows the light to those of us navigating through now. Even better, she shares the amazing stories of women she's worked with who have utilized these strategies to Boss Up in their own lives and the incredible results they've found. I feel lucky that she's put this all together and shared these gems in such a fun, easy-to-read book! THANK YOU EMILIE!
February 26, 2019
I couldn't put Bossed Up down (no pun intended :D)! This is a practical guide (each chapter has numbered steps you can take to act on the material presented) to moving your career and personal life in whatever direction you choose (and never fear if you can't articulate a vision or direction to take your life yet - Emilie provides help with that too!) with a feminist lens. Emilie cites a lot of books I LOVE so it's also a great gateway into reading more in depth about specific feminist topics related to life and work.
Bossed Up was wonderful to read because Emilie's voice is so positive, straightforward, and funny. Her personality and sense of humor come out easily through the text. Every woman I know will relate to what she has to say - "...life no longer feels like it's happening to you. You no longer feel like a doormat, stuck in the cycle of perfecting, performing, and pleasing and living your life in sole service of others." Yes!!
A portion of Bossed Up also touches on "muddling through the middle" which is so helpful. Not every milestone in life can involve a shiny gold trophy...as Emilie writes, the middle is "where the real magic happens." I highly recommend this book to any woman who has any doubts about her career, is looking toward making a career pivot, or is feeling like something is out-of-whack career-wise in her life.
Just so you know, I received early access to this book via the publisher.
Bossed Up was wonderful to read because Emilie's voice is so positive, straightforward, and funny. Her personality and sense of humor come out easily through the text. Every woman I know will relate to what she has to say - "...life no longer feels like it's happening to you. You no longer feel like a doormat, stuck in the cycle of perfecting, performing, and pleasing and living your life in sole service of others." Yes!!
A portion of Bossed Up also touches on "muddling through the middle" which is so helpful. Not every milestone in life can involve a shiny gold trophy...as Emilie writes, the middle is "where the real magic happens." I highly recommend this book to any woman who has any doubts about her career, is looking toward making a career pivot, or is feeling like something is out-of-whack career-wise in her life.
Just so you know, I received early access to this book via the publisher.
March 27, 2019
Emilie's mission to help women create sustainable careers oozes throughout this book. For too long, career advice geared toward women has been just that, career advice. Emilie goes above and beyond to give women what they actually need - life advice. As every part of our lives overlaps, career advice can't be limited to the office, it has to explore how it collides with relationships, health (physical, emotional, mental), finances, etc. and that's exactly what Bossed Up does. She offers thoughtful & actionable advice with the added bonus of what that could look like in real life. As a podcast listener and bootcamp alum, I was excited to read this book as Emilie's advice is ever evolving to keep up with the rapid pace of the world around us and this book delivers on that.
May 21, 2019
This is a great book for a variety of people - whether you are just graduating college or someone who is looking to hit the reset button when it comes to their career and life. Emilie provides practical, real tips for how to think big and break down those big ideas into actionable and obtainable goals. I also appreciated the different stories that accompanied each of the chapters. They were stories not just of women in their 20s, but women from different backgrounds and stages of life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2019
As a long-time follower of Bossed Up, I wasn't sure the Bossed Up book would have anything new to tell me, but it really did. In Bossed Ip, Emilie gives practical advice for getting to the place you want to be in a sustainable way. She pairs that with real examples of women who used the tools she teaches to learn about themselves and move their lives forward. I highly recommend. FYI: I received a copy of the book from the publisher for my honest review.
July 7, 2019
A high 4.5. If this wasn't a library copy I would have highlighted entire chapters. So, SO good!!
February 14, 2020
A must read for ambitious women everywhere! I will re-read this with a highlighter and post-it’s.
Read
April 14, 2020Great book with useful advice that you can implement immediately.
May 31, 2019
Authentic, direct, and practical
May 30, 2019
This is not your average "you can do this" book. This book is full of substantive strategies that can be implemented immediately in one's work life. I want to give a copy to every female I know who is currently in the workforce.
I found it interesting, helpful, and appropriate that the author points out situations in which an obstacle she may have faced or is facing now is still through a lens of privilege. We cannot grow as a society and learn to manage privilege if we refuse to call it out. Aries does this in a way that does not invoke feelings of shame but of compassion and inspiration to support others.
Worth the wait. I can't wait to go to a Bossed Up Bootcamp now!
I found it interesting, helpful, and appropriate that the author points out situations in which an obstacle she may have faced or is facing now is still through a lens of privilege. We cannot grow as a society and learn to manage privilege if we refuse to call it out. Aries does this in a way that does not invoke feelings of shame but of compassion and inspiration to support others.
Worth the wait. I can't wait to go to a Bossed Up Bootcamp now!
October 5, 2019
Absolutely love the Bossed Up podcast - I find it genuinely useful and really pleasant to listen to. I listened to the Bossed Up book on audible and really enjoyed listening to her, she’s got a really soothing voice which makes it a great listen. I would describe the book as a big pep talk, great to get motivation and grab some really good quotes to write down and remember for your next hustle. I didn’t find any practical benefits as I’ve heard most of this before from other similar books.
Read
March 16, 2019Yes, this is ultimately just a self-help book with no advice that is groundbreaking or new, but it is exceptionally written -- like a conversation between you and a close (very smart!) friend. I highlighted liberally in Bossed Up, to save the snappy, inspirational way in which Aries phrases her advice . . . that is the true compliment for any book I read!
December 25, 2025
"Bossed Up: A Grown Woman's Guide to Getting Your Sh*t Together" is a leadership and motivational guide for women to make positive changes in their (mostly) professional lives. Aries talks about how she went from a self-proclaimed "hot mess" to the founder of Bossed Up, a leadership development organization for women.
The book explains how to:
-Get out of a martyrdom mindset and reclaim your power to shape your own life and career
-Embrace a leadership mindset
-Iterate on new ideas to progress toward your goals
-Find a community of like-minded peers and mentors who can help you accomplish what you want
Aries does use a lot of research to back up her points, but I felt the book was a little elementary in the advice it dispensed. What I did appreciate were the real examples of women who had transformed their career trajectories, though the stories failed to give the nitty gritty details on what it took. While the book was inspirational and positive, I would have loved to have read more examples on things like negotiations, dealing with workplace conflict, leading ego-centric employees and other professional pitfalls.
I think this is a great book for recent college graduates, as a motivational primer to go after what you want in a world that often places women at a disadvantage. For female professionals already well-established in a career, I think the advice may seem a little basic, though encouragement for a strong professional life can always offer positive meaning, wherever you are in your journey.
The book explains how to:
-Get out of a martyrdom mindset and reclaim your power to shape your own life and career
-Embrace a leadership mindset
-Iterate on new ideas to progress toward your goals
-Find a community of like-minded peers and mentors who can help you accomplish what you want
Aries does use a lot of research to back up her points, but I felt the book was a little elementary in the advice it dispensed. What I did appreciate were the real examples of women who had transformed their career trajectories, though the stories failed to give the nitty gritty details on what it took. While the book was inspirational and positive, I would have loved to have read more examples on things like negotiations, dealing with workplace conflict, leading ego-centric employees and other professional pitfalls.
I think this is a great book for recent college graduates, as a motivational primer to go after what you want in a world that often places women at a disadvantage. For female professionals already well-established in a career, I think the advice may seem a little basic, though encouragement for a strong professional life can always offer positive meaning, wherever you are in your journey.
January 6, 2020
Emilie takes a realistic and modern view to challenges women face today. It’s refreshing to have someone have an imperfect view, to ditch martyrdom, acknowledge role overload in a world that loves talking about work/life balance and focuses on the steps to make progress towards a place we feel happy.
I also purchased the BossedUp Life Tracker Planner this year and am excited to use what I learned from the book and podcast to embark on my 2020 goals.
I also purchased the BossedUp Life Tracker Planner this year and am excited to use what I learned from the book and podcast to embark on my 2020 goals.
March 4, 2020
This book is a must read for any woman, or ally, to read in their career journey. It has given me tangible and actionable steps that I’ve been able to engage with real time in my own career since I’ve started reading. Strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to dream bigger and life a more satisfying life.
February 16, 2021
I first met Emilie Aries over 3 years ago when I joined her Facebook group. So I was very excited to read Bossed Up. She is an advocate for career growth for women and I enjoyed reading this book. Furthermore, I especially loved the interesting stories from other career women, I highly recommend this book if you are looking to improve your career.
July 8, 2021
I enjoyed this book and took some helpful notes. There were some things I have come across before, while others I had not, but putting it together in a very simple format with a focus on women felt very validating to a lot of things I've experienced. I would recommend to anyone who wants to improve setting boundaries, being assertive, and setting goals.
August 4, 2019
This is a book that would have been helpful to me 10 years ago had it existed then. I'd recommend this to anyone fresh out of high school or college who is ready to take on the world; add it to your toolkit.
May 10, 2020
This book provided a framework for approaching your career, defining your goals, and building up the toolkit to accomplish them that resonated and inspired me. It is a great book for anyone looking for a change in perspective.
November 17, 2020
I enjoyed the first part of this book a lot. Sound thoughts on being purposeful and not overworking ourselves to exhaustion for no real benefit. The second half of the book trailed off a bit for me but still some good nuggets.
November 27, 2020
Career focused book on celebrating effort over achievement. It addresses redirecting inner dialogue and impostor syndrome. There is a Facebook group you can join after reading this full of super empowering professional women that offer great advice.
May 21, 2019
Not too long ago, I was given an advanced copy of the Bossed Up Book by Emilie Aries to read and review (note I am not being paid for the review). If there is one thing that every woman should do, it's read this book right freakin' now!
Emilie walks you through how to take charge of your own life as she has done for herself. She spotlights many of the challenges that women face, such as overwork, role overload, imposter syndrome, and much much more and breaks down the ways to combat them. This is probably one of the best reasons to get yourself a copy of the book. The fact that she gives actionable advice and has the data to back it up is something that I love, and am a little jealous that I didn't get to do it first.
Emilie walks you through how to take charge of your own life as she has done for herself. She spotlights many of the challenges that women face, such as overwork, role overload, imposter syndrome, and much much more and breaks down the ways to combat them. This is probably one of the best reasons to get yourself a copy of the book. The fact that she gives actionable advice and has the data to back it up is something that I love, and am a little jealous that I didn't get to do it first.
September 21, 2019
A great read for when you need a little boost and direction.
February 3, 2020
34% dnf
really good book for women with money
terrible advices for women without the money
really good book for women with money
terrible advices for women without the money
March 4, 2020
Thank you so much for writing this book!
April 8, 2020
literally the Bossed Up podcast, but in the form of a book! positive, smart, & useful for women in careers. I read the physical book, but might even re-read via Audible it’s that good
October 2, 2020
A good book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews