From Amazon
Amazing things happen when a woman taps her inner Girl Scout. In You Can Do It!, Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas and friends present an engaging cast of female mentors who share their expertise in activities ranging from money management to firewalking. Encouraging the can-do spirit kindled during her own Scouting years, Catuzzi goes beyond the badge with this concept. A wealth of information and the book's visual charm inspire women to embrace their aspirations and, in turn, to build self-esteem. All who completed this commendable handbook following Catuzzi's tragic death deserve applause.
Want to fly airplanes? Break a habit? Learn photography? Grandcolas demystifies 60 popular activities here. Low-key visualization and a biographical page featuring a talented mentor kicks off each chapter. Badge steps follow, conveying all the necessary how-tos. Margins contain revealing anecdotes, plus thumbnail definitions for mastering each skill's language. For example, the wine appreciation chapter offers brief descriptions of common whites and red, tips for ordering in restaurants, a glass guide, and suggestions for creating a wine journal. The final step--stocking your own cellar, in this case--concludes with a hearty "Congratulations!" and tips for venturing "Beyond the Badge." A pageful of resources including books, magazines, Web sites, and related organizations completes each chapter. For those who groove on such things, 60 silver-dollar-sized merit badges await earning (okay, they're just really pretty stickers at the book's end). Never motherly nor professorial, You Can Do It! fuses straight talk and wry humor to keep the read enjoyable and success within reach. --Liane Thomas
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| Read our interview with Vaughn Catuzzi Lohec and Dara Catuzzi Near |
Want to fly airplanes? Break a habit? Learn photography? Grandcolas demystifies 60 popular activities here. Low-key visualization and a biographical page featuring a talented mentor kicks off each chapter. Badge steps follow, conveying all the necessary how-tos. Margins contain revealing anecdotes, plus thumbnail definitions for mastering each skill's language. For example, the wine appreciation chapter offers brief descriptions of common whites and red, tips for ordering in restaurants, a glass guide, and suggestions for creating a wine journal. The final step--stocking your own cellar, in this case--concludes with a hearty "Congratulations!" and tips for venturing "Beyond the Badge." A pageful of resources including books, magazines, Web sites, and related organizations completes each chapter. For those who groove on such things, 60 silver-dollar-sized merit badges await earning (okay, they're just really pretty stickers at the book's end). Never motherly nor professorial, You Can Do It! fuses straight talk and wry humor to keep the read enjoyable and success within reach. --Liane Thomas
| Start Exploring You Can Do It! Today Discover Sample Badges and Related Reference Books Below |
 | Badge #3--Roam Where You Want To This badge helps you "define your dream trip, prepare for takeoff, and wind up with a departure date, itinerary, and perfectly packed bag. Consider St. Augustine's words: 'The world is a book; those who stay home read only one page.' ...Get ready to say bon voyage. You can do it! | ||
 | Badge #21--Get Down to the Knitty-Gritty Whether you're a trendsetter hankering for a handknit PDA cover or a traditionalist after a tea cozy just like Grandma's, this badge will have you in stitches--and a new scarf--in no time. As your fingers fly, you'll soothe your soul, relax your mind, and satisfy your creative urges. Get ready to get hooked. You can do it! | ||
 | Badge #27--Get Well-Read Being well-read means different things to different people. It usually assumes some depth in a specific subject area or breadth across an "established" list of classics. But there is no right or wrong to any great love affair. The purpose of this badge is to open doors to a lifetime enriched by reading on your own terms, without any literary presumption or prejudice. You can read whatever you like, and as much (or little) as you like, so long as you stay true to the call of what really interests and delights you. You can do it! | ||
 | Badge #28--Dine In Imagine this... When afternoon turns to evening and stomachs start to growl, you invite your friends to stay for supper--and bowl them over with your baked ziti...How did someone who used to find cooking for people intimidating turn into such a gracious gourmet chef? By keeping a panic-proof pantry, learning to rustle up a few reliable dishes, and refining your repertoire. Grab an apron. You can do it! | ||
 | Badge #29--Know Your Best Cellars There's a difference between drinking wine and tasting wine. When you are drinking wine, it blends with the experience to become a poignant memory. When tasting wine, the process of swirling, sniffing, sipping, and spitting is educational. It's fun to buy, order, serve, and savor wine. Learning what you like and a willingness to experiment is all you need to get into wine. Grab a corkscrew. You can do it! | ||
 | Badge #33--Hang Ten Imagine this... You stride purposefully down the beach, board under your arm, sun on your back, smile on your face. When you reach the water, you gracefully throw down your board, ease yourself onto it, and begin paddling into the clear blue of sea and sky. Thoughts of deadlines and duties recede with the shoreline. You have just one thing on your mind: Catching a wave and riding it sure and strong. If this is your beach-chair daydream, this badge will get you up, out to sea, and on a board. You can do it! | ||
Review
Many of the badges are based on adventures from Lauren's own life: taking her husband sky-diving to celebrate her 30th birthday, earning her emergency medical technician credential, learning how to kayak and Rollerblade. Other badges are more practical, such as getting personal finances in order or quitting smoking. "Lauren worried that women got too caught up in their 'To Do' lists instead of their 'Dream to Do' lists," says her husband Jack. "This is her final gift." Book proceeds will be donated to a foundation supporting Lauren's favorite charities. "Newsweek"
."..it is more than just a life-maintenance manual - the emphasis is very much on breaking through personal boundaries and trying something new." "London Times"
""You Can Do It!: The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls", for all Girl Scouts at heart, embodies the spirit of sisterhood." "USA Today"
Book Description
Inspired by the girl scouts' system of rewarding new skills and achievements with a merit badge, You Can Do It! is the merit badge handbook for grown women. Featuring 60 life-changing goals-including horseback riding, investing, knitting, starting a rock band, going back to school or tracing your roots-it balances the clear voice of inspiration alongside diligent, real-world advice that connects readers with the tangible rewards of achievement. Each "badge activity" introduces a female expert, such as Toronto-based internet consultant Denise Shortt, who launched Wired Woman Toronto in 1998 and writes regularly for the Globe and Mail-affiliated website, and Whistler real estate mogul Stephanie Sloan, a world champion freestyle skier and founder of the "Women on the Edge" women-only ski program at Whistler Blackcomb. In all, 60 experts on everything from skiing to genealogy ground readers in the facts. Then follows a personal invitation to readers to picture their goals. Warm encouragement together with concrete, step-by-step objectives finally guide dreams to reality. Seven pages of colourful illustrated badge stickers are included to reward each triumph. Five hundred motivational pages, jam-packed with information, open up life-affirming possibilities for women passionate about striving to reach their potential-to say "I did it!"
About the Author
Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas (1963-2001) started writing You Can Do It! a year before her death on September 11, 2001. Known as the heroine of United Flight 93, she is featured prominently in Jere Longman's New York Times bestseller Among the Heroes. She was
