Stepping Into My Shoes By Dr.Catherine A Baudino Review

Reviewed by Rebecca Wong

I’m an avid reader of any book where I can glean inspiration to help me to be the best version of myself. Call them self-help or personal development books; as long as I know I will learn some lessons and some tools that I can use in either my personal or work life, then it was a worthwhile read in my eyes. So when I was offered the chance to read Stepping into my Shoes by Dr. Catherine A Baudino, I could not risk missing out on some nuggets of wisdom nestled within the pages, just waiting to be read.

The book itself arrived and it’s a really nice hardback book with a striking cover that is a nod to the author’s own life and preferences – you’ll have to read to find out! This is a good quality piece that will last years. The author herself is an experienced Business Coach and self-professed jack of many many trades who has had an extraordinary life; working in many Global corporations and with many high-profile personalities from within the world of business and politics, including the notorious Robert Maxwell, known to be a very difficult person to work with.

In the book, Dr.Catherine takes us on a journey, steering us through different era’s of her life, not just the opportunities that came her way but how her more formative years helped to shape the person she became. She was a person with a talent to tune in to opportunities with the drive to grasp them with both hands without allowing the challenges to blur that focus. Her story is fascinating and I was hooked from start to finish. In addition, I really enjoyed the insights into her life as a globetrotting, respected businesswoman in the 80’s who smashed through the glass ceiling; it seems like such a different time but then many of those difficulties are still experienced by women today. Dr.Cathetrine spoke a lot about her parents and the profound effect they had on her, even to this day and the sacrifices she made along the way that could have been career-ending for most but for Dr.Catherine; just motivated her more to work hard and focus on her goals.

This was an incredibly inspiring read and Dr.Catherine skilfully incorporated many tools and key learnings throughout the text with reflective activities to allow you to almost self-coach yourself around setting goals, developing a positive mindset, creating a professional image, being assertive….the list goes on. I’ve made notes throughout and can see that I’ll be using this book as a reference and go-to in the future when I need to focus-in on specific areas.

Even without doing those exercises it almost feels as if the assertiveness and confidence jump off the page and you can’t help but absorb it yourself. This book isn’t just for women though, it’s just as useful a read for men who want to gain a different perspective or consider their own impact on others.

It’s clear that this book is written by someone who has overcome a lot in her lifetime, who embodies determination and empathy but demonstrates it through her life stories and experiences. You know that just 5 minutes spent in her company would result in a really thought-provoking conversation but in the absence of that, this book is a perfect personal coaching tool, reference book and all-round riveting read.

It can be purchased here for £21.99 and I give it a 5/5 as a wonderful, well-written guide to living life with a growth-mindset and a positive approach. In fact, I intend on reading it again very soon!