Lean In

Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

By: Sheryl Sandberg

Narrated by: Elisa Donovan

Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • “A landmark manifesto" (The New York Times) that's a revelatory, inspiring call to action and a blueprint for individual growth that will empower women around the world to achieve their full potential.

In her famed TED talk, Sheryl Sandberg described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk, which has been viewed more than eleven million times, encouraged women to “sit at the table,” seek challenges, take risks, and pursue their goals with gusto. Lean In continues that conversation, combining personal anecdotes, hard data, and compelling research to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can. Sandberg, COO of Meta (previously called Facebook) from 2008-2022, provides practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career. She describes specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment, and demonstrates how men can benefit by supporting women both in the workplace and at home.

©2013 Sheryl Sandberg; 2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Lean In is an inauguration more than a last word, and an occasion for celebration ... Many, many women, young and old, elite and otherwise, will find it prescriptive, refreshing, and perhaps even revolutionary.” (Anna Holmes, The New Yorker)

“A landmark manifesto ... Fifty years after The Feminine Mystique ... Sandberg addresses 21st-century issues that never entered Betty Friedan’s wildest dreams ... Lean In will be an influential book. It will open the eyes of women who grew up thinking that feminism was ancient history, who recoil at the word but walk heedlessly through the doors it opened. And it will encourage those women to persevere in their professional lives.” (Janet Maslin, The New York Times)

“I approached it wearing two hats—one as CEO [and] the other as the parent of a nine-year-old daughter. In both capacities, I feel that Lean In is a must read.” (Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of PIMCO, in Fortune)

Great read for husbands and dads

Sandberg presents a book with a cornucopia of first-person examples of self-doubt, discrimination, opportunities for empowerment, and small (and great!) wins from throughout her career and education. Importantly, the book is littered with cross-disciplinary research providing insights into specific (and objective) examples of the realities of female challenges in the work place, at home, and our culture writ large. The importance of the research - and even Sandberg's recommendations - is it provides tangible, realistic, doable policy, workplace actions, and communal support towards equality for our mom's, wives, and daughters. As the father of a 1.5 year old daughter and husband to a highly successful wife the powerful nuggets in this book are the reminders to not just ask my wife what I can do to support her, but step up and take on child care, home making, career-supportive responsibility without her having to ask. The value of doing so is not just the balance and relief it can provide her, but the example to my daughter that I can set by doing things both small and big.

This book, I would argue, is more essential for us guys to absorb than it is for the women we love.

A must read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. Sheryl is so generous in her thinking and so relatable in her delivery. This is one of my favorite reads in a long while.

Who was your favorite character and why?

N/A

Which character – as performed by Elisa Donovan – was your favorite?

N/A

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It didn't make me emotional.That said, I found find it very powerful and eye opening. It was a conversation starter to be sure.

Any additional comments?

Read this book. Buy it for your friends, children, colleagues. It's a great read.

Good read...makes you think

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. This book takes a look at some of the "mind blocks" women can have when they think about their careers. The book also talks about the importance of women in the workplace supporting each other.

Prepared to Lean In even more going forward

This book is a good reality check for female manages, like me, particularly in male dominated fields. After working in a predominately male world most of my career, I had become blind to trends and immune to activities that have been reframed by this book. Not any more....

This book is also a great read for men - we women can't do it alone, you have a very important role.

Fantastic book!

a very inspiring book on leadership! I am hopeful

great read and I was not expecting to be so moved. as a mid 50's entrepreneur I have met the glass ceiling many times and have been discouraged. what a wonderful surprise to find a change is afoot again, and my kids will benefit by the message. thinking this is a great highschool graduation gift. or, the highschools should make it a required read.

Read This!

Would you listen to Lean In again? Why?

Yes! It's a great illustration of how women get in their own way. I never recognized that about myself until I read this book. There is a lot to absorb, great stats and stories.

What other book might you compare Lean In to and why?

The Male Factor. That book also has great insight into how men think and how women sometimes sabotage their own efforts by not understanding how men think.

Have you listened to any of Elisa Donovan’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but she was great!

Together, we can prosper!

Amazing! Inspiring! Go, powerful womyn! Together, we can prosper! A must read for all womyn.

Starts off great then gets political

It starts off very good and inspiring, motivational but about halfway in, it takes a heavy political turn. I didn't mind some of the political talk in the first half but it becomes overwhelming.

A truly authentic and worth while book!

Mrs. Sandberg's journey to success while riddled with privilege, that I personally feel she failed to ackbowledge. was never the less brilliant and inspiring.

Better than I thought

I read many reviews of this book before reading it and was honestly quite critical. I thought “so that’s the solution to discrimination in the workplace, work more?! That sounds terrible.” As well as a woman of color, I had heard about some of the biases of the book. I learned a lot from listening to this book and will probably replay parts as I develop in my career.