
Top titles to supercharge your personal and professional development.
The book review pages are written for you, by you
Who are the best people to deem whether the latest business book will boost your professional and personal development as a high-level assistant? Fellow EAs, of course!
In each issue of the Executive PA magazine, we’ll feature a book or two, complete with an informative and insightful review by one of your peers. You’ll also get a sneak peek of the newest titles available for review.
Like one of the ‘sneak peek’ titles?
Great! E-mail Claire at editor@executivepa.com, stating the title you wish to review and why, as well as a line or two about you, your role and your experience.
Want to be on the reader panel?
Alternatively, if you’d like a regular e-mail with all contribution opportunities, including book reviews, e-mail Claire at editor@executivepa.com with a few sentences about you, your role and your experience.
Going to be a reviewer?
Here’s how it works:
- You’ll get a digital or hard copy of the book and a how-to for the review.
- Post-reading, you’ll write a short review. Your writing doesn’t need to be of a professional standard – that’s the editor’s job. On that note, you can contact Claire for any questions along the way.
- Submit your review and before you know it, you’ll see your words on these very pages.
Please note: Regrettably, we can only have one reviewer per title but we hugely appreciate your interest and will always keep you on file for further review opportunities.
READY FOR REVIEW
Add Value
by Mark Carter
Learn how to realise and expand your full potential in your career, identify your personal values for success at work and beyond, stop compromising your authentic value, contribute value through philanthropy for social impact and focus on strong, personal human connections in a digital age.
Add Value promises a unique and insightful read for anyone with the curiosity and energy to invest in themselves in order to thrive, today and into the future.
Resilience Recipes
by Fleur Heazlewood
“Having gone through what we’ve all gone through over the past two years, I’ve found myself facing new challenges that, maybe, I’m not really prepared for. The idea of a book with answers to some of my most pressing problems really appealed to me. After all, as an EA, your work life and home life can merge – surely solving some of the stresses in my personal life could only help in my professional life?
Resilience Recipes starts out with a simple wellbeing assessment test. Then it heads into strategies and exercises to help you manage stressful situations and take back control of potentially overwhelming areas in your life.
These are simple and practical tasks (sometimes that’s all you can take, isn’t it?) and because the author breaks them down into manageable chunks, you never feel like you can’t achieve any of them. Plus, you don’t have to do them all, or even in order – just pick and choose based on how you’re feeling.
My main takeaway was that we need to take more time for ourselves. Work can be so overwhelming and role of an EA – largely focused around looking after others – means we don’t always look after ourselves. But we should and we need to. I’m definitely going to be taking more time for myself… And stopping working 24/7.
I’ve also realised I don’t need to be in control all the time, which was very enlightening! And, in relation, reading this book has helped me finally realise that I don’t have to be perfect. Mistakes happen and it’s all a learning curve.
I would definitely recommend Resilience Recipes to anyone – but especially EAs. After reading, I absolutely feel more in control and far less overwhelmed with everything. But whether you’re struggling with stress and wellbeing or not, I think everyone can get something out of the exercises within the book.
Oh, and one thing to make clear from the start is that this isn’t a recipe book, so don’t be expecting the perfect lasagne recipe!”
Reading this book has helped me finally realise that I don’t have to be perfect. Mistakes happen and it’s all a learning curve.

PA and admin team leader at WSP.