OK Steve Harvey, We Get It!

Steve Harvey's first book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man was a hit! It was being quoted, celebrated, recited, dictated, and read aloud like holy scripture to women near and far. Single woman, married women, dating women: it didn't matter. The ladies wanted to hear what Steve Harvey had to say about love and relationships...and were thirsty for his keeping-it-real male perspective that their girlfriends couldn't [accurately] give them.

After all, it came from a man we know and love: Broderik Steven Harvey of West Virginia. A well-dressed and well-respected man with a crazy sense of humour, class, success, and at the age of 53--years of experience with matters of the heart and interpersonal relationships. The book made us laugh out loud, and nod our heads in recognition. An instant best-seller that spent months on the top of the Essence booklist, it was a must-have in the female library.

So women were now craving this perspective. This truth. The instruction. They called the man down, followed him to conferences, linked his radio show, wrote him letters and emails because they wanted to know more. And what did our friend Steve do? He gave us more.

His second book, Straight Talk, No Chaser, will sell simply based on the reputation and word-of-mouth of the first book. It includes interesting chapters such as:

• Dating by the Decades: A guide to How Men Feel About Relationships in Their Twenties, Thirties, Forties, Fifties, and Beyond
• Are Women Intimidating? Myths Versus Facts
• Every Sugar Daddy Ain't Sweet
• Let's Stop the Games: Asking Men the Right Questions to Get the Real Answers

Despite the hot topics...Straight Talk, No Chaser is not nearly as informative--or necessary--as the first was. To compare the two isn't fair. Perhaps if I read THIS book first, I would love it, and the Act Like a Lady...would seem redundant. But the truth of the matter is...they're pretty much the exact same book, and there is a lot of repetition in theory and advice.

My opinion: I think I got the point the first time around. Loud and clear.

Steve--now on his 3rd marriage to Marjorie Bridges--is the father of 7, and sounds like he has a solid hold on his family, his kids, and his spirituality. He's lived an interesting life, and shared the highs and lows throughout his texts. He is definitely a man of good substance.

Here's what he had to share, this time around...in case you didn't get it the first time. And if you didn't get it after the first book (which was pretty straightforward!)...maybe you need more than a book to address your concerns with the opposite sex.

I'm just saying.

In a nutshell (AGAIN!):

Do your standards and requirements reflect who you are and what you're capable of giving back? - Steve believes that while it's great to tell your girlfriends about the Ph.D., 6'4", supermodel, 35-year -old with no children, and limitless riches that you "deserve" to have...that you have to make sure you're working just as hard and are just as competent yourself to expect that type of partner. If you want your man to be a scholarly businessman...you can't be laying up on the couch and collecting unemployment, hoping he'll come and save you.

Women truly interested in finding the right guy have to get over the fear of losing one - its' OK to a let a man go if he's not the right one for you. It's OK to be single for a while. You have to be willing to move on if someone isn't giving you what you want, and just trust that someone else will eventually come around.

Stop compromising your requirements to justify having a relationship with a man who won't give you what you ultimatly want - settling is compromising. It's not okay to forget about your wants and needs, and settle for security. You can never find true fulfillment this way.

Mediocre, yet common-sensical advice at best. I'm not knocking him, he's done a great thing with these books. He's kept it real (albeit a "little" bit oooold-school at times), and he's trying his best to prevent women all over the globe from delusion and despair.

I love Steve Harvey. I loved him in The Steve Harvey Show. I loved him on The Original Kings of Comedy. I even log into his nationally syndicated morning radio show The Steve Harvey Morning Show online at work to catch two jokes. I can't say I've watched him on Family Feud yet, but I'm sure he's pretty funny there too.

BUT, I think I've learned all I need to know from him about the ins and outs of the male mind. Going forward, perhaps I'd prefer to only see him selling his suits, or on a stage somewhere...making me laugh, telling crazy, irrelevant stories and punchlines, and leaving the female heart and self-esteem out if it!

"The bottom line is that the world is full of men who are willing and able to commit. Get your house in order, put your standards and requirements to use, exercise your power in your relationships, and be willing to walk away. I'm not saying this journey will be easy or quick. But it'll be well worth it." ~Steve Harvey


-Review by Stacey Marie Robinson, Publisher/Author, Kya Publishing