By 
Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “Gather As You Go Sharing Lessons Along the Way” by Carol Lavin Bernick part of Suzy Approved Book Tours
***Net proceeds from the sales of Gather As You Go support Enchanted Backpack, a Chicago-area nonprofit founded by the Lavin and Bernick families with the belief that all children deserve to have the tools they need to learn and excel.
Linda’s Book Obsession Review “Gather As You Go, Sharing Lessons Along the Way” BY CAROL LAVIN BERNICK for SUZY APPROVED BOOK TOURS.
Carol Lavin Bernick, Author of “Gather As You Go, Sharing Lessons Along the Way” has written an intriguing, memorable, and helpful book. The physical book is really very heavy, and is a navy blue, with gold writing and with a blue ribbon attached to serve as your bookmark. There are gorgeous photographs and pictures, and the paper seems to be very elegant. My husband classified the book as one that should be on the coffee table, and he very rarely notices detail. It is really important to note that net proceeds from the sales of “Gather As You Go” support Enchanted Backpack, a Chicago-area nonprofit founded by the Lavin and Bernick families with the belief that all children deserve to have the tools they need to learn and excel.” I have included information about the book and the author at the conclusion of my review.
Carol Lavin Bernick has drawn upon her experiences to share many ideas that she has found successful. The author describes that there are many short stories, but I would classify them as essays, or narratives. I found many of the ideas for entertaining, themes for parties, and gifts for certain occasions very interesting. In a section with decorating home, the author recommends a place for silk flowers, and I did go check them out. The flowers did look realistic online but seemed to cost a little more than other sites that I had checked out.
Some of her ideas of gifts for people in certain circumstances of life were, 5 weeks of a housekeeper, or cooked meals, or a jar of notes from friends with encouraging notes. Some of the ideas were wonderful and others were out of the price range for many people. Carol Lavin Bernick describes the weddings that she made for her 3 children and there were showers, before parties, rehearsal dinners, the wedding, after the wedding, etc, which again could be out of the price range of many people.
The author enjoys gifting to others. I enjoy gifting, but I don’t have the means to give scholarships or other extravagant gifts for others, as much as I would want to if I could. I appreciate that the author has given to charity, in a really big way.
I am a retired teacher and not the head of a huge business empire. Many of the ideas made common sense, and I did feel confused at a few suggestions. One was that the author would check out the references from a person interviewing for the job. She would call the company after hours, and ask that they would call back if they had really good and special comments to say of the candidate. If they didn’t call back the person wasn’t hired. Perhaps I misunderstood that, but most businesses and doctor’s offices don’t return any kind of calls from us, emergency or not. Somehow, if the company didn’t call back, would that mean the person really wouldn’t get the job??
I spent the whole day Saturday reading the book, from before the crack of dawn, until late at night, and I found it full of many ideas. The pictures are beautiful. I would highly suggest reading and looking at this book for many of the helpful suggestions that you could use. It would make an excellent gift as well. Happy Reading!
Below, is information about the author and the book.
About The Book:
“Good things have happened as well as a bunch of rough stuff, and there are lessons to learn from each. If I share the “wisdoms,” maybe I can help other people. The idea is to pass it on. This is all about sharing and learning, and I hope that if you take just a couple of things from this book that are meaningful to you, your life might be a little stronger, better, happier or healthier – or you may just think a little differently about what life throws at you.” – C.L.B.
Corporate chairman. Successful businesswoman. Creator of new products. Marketing expert. Philanthropist. Working mom. A family life that produced many moments to celebrate and a few serious ones to grieve. Thought leader Carol Lavin Bernick, drawing from her extensive life and work experiences, shares 300+ highly engaging, inspirational stories in her memoir, Gather As You Go – Sharing Lessons Learned Along the Way. Through her insights, thoughts, and wisdom, she provides people of all ages practical advice to enjoy a more resilient, positive, and productive life. Rather than writing several books, Bernick chose to create one, self-help book imparting easily digestible short stories of her experiences for people with crazy, busy lives. Gather As You Go is part business book – sharing stories from her thirty-seven years at the Alberto Culver Company and encompassing new product development, branding, the company’s cultural overhaul she led, and the challenges in a family-owned business. It’s also part family focused – with advice on raising great kids as a working mom, losing loved ones – one to drugs and one to cancer, and the challenges of and solutions to helping elderly parents. It’s also part coffee table and lifestyle book – providing tips on designing, building and decorating homes; entertaining, throwing great parties and weddings; and creating meaningful and major charitable efforts to make communities stronger through philanthropy. Gather As You Go covers a lot of ground. Organized into 10 chapters that take the form of quick, informative and empowering life lessons and reflections, each chapter features introductory thoughts from well-respected people speaking to their own expertise. With its beautiful photographs and artful illustrations, this substantive, 455-page book is a must-have. From Millennial to Baby Boomer, readers will find Bernick’s teachings to be authentic, tried-and-true, sincere, and down-to-earth.
About The Author:
Carol Lavin Bernick
After more than 30 years in the C-suite of international conglomerate Alberto Culver, Carol Lavin Bernick has mastered the boardroom. As Executive Chairperson, she instituted a corporate culture overhaul that propelled the company forward and was profiled in the Harvard Business Review. Her strength as an executive is matched equally by her commitment to family, community and philanthropy. She spends her time supporting organizations close to her heart, including serving as immediate past chair of Northwestern Memorial Healthcare. She also serves on the boards of Northwestern University and Tulane University (she was appointed chair-elect of the Board of Tulane this past April), the Chicago Community Trust, and many others. In 2005, Bernick was named National Working Mother of the Year by the Moms in Business Network.
She recently published a collection of her insights entitled Gather As You Go: Sharing Lessons Learned Along The Way. Bernick shares her wisdom on topics from leadership and branding to civic engagement and raising kids as a working mom to assisting older parents, celebrations, decorating and more. She hopes the book will inspire people of all ages and lifestyles with ideas that are helpful, thought-provoking and encouraging. https://www.gatherasyougo.com/
Linda's Book Obsession: 