Lean In

By: Sheryl Sandberg

Narrated by: Elisa Donovan

Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sheryl Sandberg - Facebook COO, ranked eighth on Fortune's list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business - has become one of America's most galvanizing leaders, and an icon for millions of women juggling work and family. In Lean In, she urges women to take risks and seek new challenges, to find work that they love, and to remain passionately engaged with it at the highest levels throughout their lives.

Lean In - Sheryl Sandberg's provocative, inspiring book about women and power - grew out of an electrifying TED talk Sandberg gave in 2010, in which she expressed her concern that progress for women in achieving major leadership positions had stalled. The talk became a phenomenon and has since been viewed nearly 2,000,000 times. In Lean In, she fuses humorous personal anecdotes, singular lessons on confidence and leadership, and practical advice for women based on research, data, her own experiences, and the experiences of other women of all ages. Sandberg has an uncanny gift for cutting through layers of ambiguity that surround working women, and in Lean In she grapples, piercingly, with the great questions of modern life. Her message to women is overwhelmingly positive. She is a trailblazing model for the ideas she so passionately espouses, and she's on the pulse of a topic that has never been more relevant.

©2013 Sheryl Sandberg; 2013 Random House Audio

Lean In, Lead On

Sheryl Sandberg had me at, “I gained 70 lbs!”

I had heard a lot about this book, but I really wasn’t sure that I could relate to this woman. At all. I expected a book by a carefully made up, wealthy, privileged woman with an excellent education in a token leadership position. I expected someone with a lot of help who could “do it all”, with little – if any – credit to the people who helped her do it.

I, on the other hand, joined the Army for the college benefits, and I put myself through law school. I don’t aspire to manage a corporation. In fact, indirectly, I work for one of the people she mentions in her book. I am an attorney, and I want to be the best litigator I can be. I am also the proud mother of two teenagers, and I worry that I shouldn’t have worked outside of the home – but that wasn’t a choice I had.

I was wrong about Sandberg. Like me, and the rest of us, she is real. Sandberg’s a sociologist, a critic, a coach, a realist. Sandberg gives props to important leaders from Warren Buffet to Betty Freidan, and to her administrative assistant and her friends. Bravo! Sandberg, get out your pom-poms - Tip O’Neil is calling from the grave.

Sandberg doesn’t mention “Games Mother Never Taught You” by Betty Lehan Harrigan (1987), but that is analogous to some of the tactics she recommends. Yes, it would be better if we (women) didn’t have to bend to the (male) rules, but we do. Harrigan’s book is a guidebook, and as helpful as Freidan’s “The Feminine Mystique” in some ways.

There is a hysterically funny tale involving an eBay corporate jet and an itchy child’s head, but for real fun, skip to Chapter 6 (7 on audible) and listen to the first minute. Sandberg reminds us even while we should do what we would do if we weren't afraid, motherhood keeps us grounded.

Oh, and did I mention – Sandberg is the COO of Facebook – and she really does know what she’s doing?

This book is fantastic. Lean In!

[If you found this review helpful, please click the Helpful button. That’s why I write these reviews!]

577 of 605 people found this review helpful

A BOMB!

What did you like best about this story?

Sheryl Sandberg isn't afraid to share. Everything is extremely personal and inspiring. I am recommending this book to my male friends. I believe that they will be able to understand and help with gender equalities if they read Sheryl's book.

What does Elisa Donovan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Elisa's voice is similar to that of Sheryl's. I am glad that I listen to it rather than read it.

26 of 28 people found this review helpful

Make your life count - no matter what you do

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

I write this review as a way to invite EVERYONE to read this book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The only character is my favorite - the woman who cares to make her life engaging and important to herself and those around her.

This is a book written as a manifesto and manual for changing the way women behave and are regarded. How you regard yourself and how our culture regards you.

What aspect of Elisa Donovan’s performance would you have changed?

I became accustomed to the narrator but would have preferred a more mature and mellifluous voice. I think the more mature voice might have also had more credibility.

For me, there is a nasal edge that grates ever so slightly the entire book.

All I could think was "Ms. Sandberg must have been mentoring or sponsoring this person".

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. In fact, this book is to be really listened to - the more attention paid, the better the results.

Also, there is a companion website that is spectacularly effective and interesting for building skills.

I might actually purchase the book as well as having listened to it. There are sections I will want to read again and again.

37 of 41 people found this review helpful

Wow--if you're a mother/working women, a must read

If you could sum up Lean In in three words, what would they be?

A must read!

What did you like best about this story?

Maybe some women don't need to hear this; maybe they are already aware and changing or simply not this way, but as an executive with almost two decades of experience, this one captured my attention and then left me gaping in horror--I was hearing her describe me! Only, I thought I was alone. I wanted to hear more--who was this intruder and how did she escape?

Any additional comments?

This is one I will keep in my office and hand out like candy

14 of 15 people found this review helpful

I battled with the narration

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narration was fine most of the time. The narrator often had a voice that sounded like she was a doll or consoling a child. It just felt like she was trying to sound extra girly and her voice was an octave higher than it should be. The topic of this book made me feel like that kind of sound was not appropriate for the book. The editing made it so it was sway between these different tones, I didn't love it. I didn't let these feelings ruin the book for me. I just would have preferred a different narrator.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Due to the statistics and facts that accompany each anecdote it would make it a bit painful to listen to in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

For the most part, I really liked her message. I like the stuff about work, but things related to having kids doesn't apply to me right now, so I found it less interesting. I think this book is definitely worth the read.

12 of 13 people found this review helpful

full of useful info...without the corporate-speak

Full disclosure: I'm a guy.
Wow, if women in corporate America have been walking around with these insecurities for the past too many years, there is a lot of repairing to do. Sandberg lays out a wide range of sensible solutions to pick from; all designed to allow women (or men) to perform at their highest level. If enough folks read this book and are able to bring its solutions to the workplace, we could probably add another percentage point or two to GDP growth! Narration is great.

38 of 43 people found this review helpful

Redefining Feminism

Sherly Sandberg has redefined feminism to what women of my generation had always hoped it could become, a movement that gives people of both genders the freeedom to become all they choose to be. The book is well written and honest with specific suggestions on how women and men can make the workplace and home more supportive to allow for these choices. She shares her own personal experiences and success without arrogance, but in a manner that shares her learning with others to support them in their own journey.I bought the book in print for my son and daughter-in-law who are expecting their first child in July - a daughter. I bought the book for my daughter and all of her friends. She is early twenties just beginning her career. Sheryl has provided a road map by sharing her knowledge that will provide young women with information many of us wish we had had during our careers. Outstanding book which I believe will become a turning point in the feminist movement world wide.

12 of 13 people found this review helpful

Lean in...to this book!

What did you love best about Lean In?

The entire story! Sheryl was open and authentic, honest and forthright. She gave us information about her path as well as suggestions for how women can do it better. An official favorite.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommended, for women AND men.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

Very inspiring!

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

I would definitely reccomend this to a friend.

Even way (and I mean, wayyyyy) before I was a mother to my two children, I had always wondered how I would ever be able to juggle both work and motherhood. As a now stay at home small business owner, I still struggle to find the answers to my self or the family.
The author tackles the issue with her own highly professional career experiences with plenty of scientific data to back up.
Easy to read and very inspiring. Definitely a huge eye opener.

By the time I finished reading, I felt like as if I was given a clear path to the solutions, although it will not come without the help of my husband, now I see where I should put my full effort in achieving a good balance between work and home.

One thing though that I wished to see was how companies could provide a flexible work time without economical penalties... If there's any way!

But overall I'm very happy to have read the book and also given the media attention this book is getting already, I'm thrilled to see the movements that are coming along the way!

Thank you Sheryl for inspiring us women!

29 of 34 people found this review helpful

Insightful book, with warm, energetic narration

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

The book takes a frank look at issues affecting women in the workplace, cutting a swathe through the veil of political correctness around the topic. Sandberg takes no prisoners in her frank look at the subject, attacking gender stereotypes propegated by both men AND women. It's a unique voice in the discussion on modern feminism and honestly one that's needed.

12 of 14 people found this review helpful

As a black woman let me say this!

So many people who reviewed this had said it was hard to relate to her because she was Jewish and came from a middle class background. As a black woman from the lower class background I still found myself nodding and even clapping along to what was being said. This is a MUST read.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Fantastic!! A must read for women and men!

Inspiring, engaging and very interesting. Excellent narrative, uses data and information from a variety of sources to make objective points.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

At first, I thought her understanding was superficial

I've studied both psychology and management science and I have often found that people who work in management but who don't study psychology or sociology, have a superficial understanding of why things are the way they are in the workplace.

This being the case, I was a bit sceptical at the start of this audiobook, because I thought it wouldn't demonstrate a deep understanding of why women are so underrepresented in the upper levels of management. The first couple of chapters didn't go into much depth, but as I made my way further into the book, I was really impressed by the insight Sheryl Sandberg brings to the fore, backed up with statistics. I expected her to be more of a handmaiden... but she's really not.

She has been very brave to write this and she expresses aspects of feminist theory with such clarity. It means this is a very approachable book and I really didn't expect her to have read people like Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem.


I was massively impressed. I will definitely be quoting things Sheryl has said, particularly chapter 11 where she talks about women internalising the idea that they are second class citizens (because we are all subtly encouraged to hold this view) and then by upholding this way of thinking, they become unwitting proponents of a value system that holds them back.

Really great book, highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Not a breakthrough book on feminism...

...but still a helpful book that preaches the need for equality in public and private spaces. An approachable read for any feminism novice; a decent refresher for those already fighting the good fight.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Must read for everyone.

I read this book in 2 days as I simply couldn't put it down.
I think it's a "must read" for everyone of every gender & age; studying, working and stay at home - it explains so much about the way things work (or don't), about the incredible waste of a pool of talent, and about how to negotiate, act and try to think about traditional gender roles.
I also think it will help many to think about the way ahead and what kind of society we want ourselves and our children to live in.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Narrator a tad annoying

I like the book, everyone raves about it for good reason.

I found the narrator really annoying but pushed through it - very heavily nasal and switches to a whiney voice when talking about being a mother.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Reveling and useful

I found it very useful and reveling. Now I understand some of my core behaviours

Great Listen

This was an amazing listen. I made several notes and also will be going back to listen again. I recommend. At the end of the day, none of the things we read are imperative for us to do or follow, but they help to provide advice and give insights. It can also be the push you need when you are living within the confines of your comfort zone. Hearing someone you do not know re-affirming something you know should be doing, but are not, due to whatever the constraint (fear, insecurity, rejection) can be all the push you need.

I wish I read this when I was 18

Super inspiring and helpful. I will lean in from now on. The book has a perfect balance between personal experiences and facts/data. Love it!

I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I’ve heard so many people talk about this book as I’m a woman in tech and I’m sad it took me so long to ‘listen’ and start my journey to Lean In too.

This audio book is well read and the message behind the book is one that all women should read as soon as they can! Thank you.