Dr. Carol Orsborn, who was a popular Roundtable Lunch leader during 2009 M2W®-The Marketing To Women Conference, is not new to speaking the truths about Boomer women. In addition to having a successful background in marketing and public relations, Orsborn has been speaking to and for her generation through books (she has authored 15), TV (she has appeared on "Oprah" and "The Today Show") and in print (People, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times—just to name a few). And now, she gives us a very personal look at her own journey through recessionary times—the struggles and the triumphs--in The Year I Saved My (downsized) Soul.

Orsborn began keeping a daily journal of her tumultuous journey through recessionary times while finding herself downsized from a corporate job in marketing. Struggling to make sense of a both personal and societal tribulation, she found herself testing the spiritual principles she’d been sharing in her previous 15 books. While searching for meaning…and a job, Orsborn ultimately shows the way to embrace both the despair and delight of what it means to be fully alive. And not to give it away—but the book has a happy ending with Orsborn landing a job in the social networking world.

But why should brands bother adding such a read to their business library? It is a great, easy read that gives marketers a lot of insight into what many of today’s Boomer women may be experiencing. “Reinventing myself in the public eye as chief blogger for a website dedicated to women 50+, I soon realized that the feelings of vulnerability and self-doubt I was experiencing were not signs of individual failure but shared by even the most accomplished women of my generation,” says Orsborn.

I especially enjoyed some of the additional items at the end of the book that included “Ten Keys to Saving Your (downsized) Soul” and a really interesting interview with the author that leaves readers wondering what their own answers would be to such questions as “If you could send a postcard to your younger self, what would you write?”

The Year I Saved My (downsized) Soul is the first original title for VN Books, a multi-platform publisher creating, distributing and marketing content targeted exclusively to the growing women 50+ marketplace. VN Books was launched by VibrantNation.com, an online destination created exclusively for women 50+. Orsborn is currently a senior strategist and blogger for VibrantNation.com

In addition to being available through Amazon, chapters of the book will be syndicated on DivineCaroline.com with excerpts also appearing on VibrantNation.com

(Reviewed August 2009, M2W® Essentials)