Book Review: “Why Do I Have to Think Like a Man?”
Author: Shanae Hall with Rhonda Frost
He thinks you’re hot.
That man has been chasing after you for weeks now, calling you at all hours, texting you, asking you for pictures and sending you –ooo weee–photos of him. He says he’s been looking for his queen, and you’re it.
He talks a good talk. He thinks you’re hot.
You think you’re in love.
But hold up a minute. Is he for real? Can this last? Think about it, then read “Why Do I Have to Think Like a Man?” (c.2010, Farrah Gray Publishing, $14.95 / $18.95, 262 pages) by Shanae Hall with Rhonda Frost.
So you went on a date with Mr. Could-Be-Right. Two nice evenings, two romantic dinners and, against your better judgment, you took things to the next level. Now he says he “ain’t feeling you,” and that’s that.
What happened? Don’t love, honesty, and commitment even exist any more?
Hall and Frost say yes, but women need to take steps to get them. First, know your value and expect a “particular level of treatment” from everyone, male or female. Secondly, don’t let your independence interfere with letting a man be a man.
But that doesn’t mean you should give up the goodies, when a man asks.
Women “tend to confuse sex with love,” say the authors, but “they are not the same thing.”
Be sure of what you truly want and keep on moving, if you’re looking for more than just bed time.
Make him wait awhile, but understand that total withholding is a sure way to drive him to another woman’s arms.
And on that note, Hall and Frost have this to say: Don’t date a married man. If you do, don’t think he’s “your man,” because he’s not. If you’re married to a cheater, don’t be mad at The Other Woman, be mad at the “goat roach” who’s straying. Understand that “it takes two people to have a great relationship, and two people to destroy it.”
Don’t allow double-standards in dating. Pay attention to the red flags and confusing messages. Don’t move too fast and don’t introduce your children to a man too soon. Write down what you want in a life-mate. Understand your own baggage, be willing to take an examining step back, and when a man says something about your relationship—listen to him.
Like most dating books, “Why Do I Have to Think Like a Man?” is filled with the kind of advice that readers will want to cautiously tailor to their own needs. Not everything here is applicable.
Unlike most dating books, though, this one is written to target women in all stages in life. Author Rhonda Frost is Shanae Hall’s mother, so this book is written from several been-there-done-that angles, which is refreshing. Also refreshing is the sassiness and the sense of empowerment that both authors, through personal stories, share with readers.
Written in response to a best-selling (and opposing) book, “Why Do I Have to Think Like a Man?” is good to have, if you think dating should be a better experience. Get it. I think you’ll like it.
Truthfully, the bad news came as no surprise.
Your Mom hadn’t been feeling well lately, and for weeks you’d heard your parents whispering. You knew she was having some tests done. Still, when they finally told you she had cancer, you couldn’t believe it. You cried for 20 minutes, ran out of the house, kicked the door, or just quietly went to your room to think.
The song always pops up when you least expect it.
There you are, minding your own business, you hear a few notes, and you’re pulled back to a wonderful-horrible time, starry dreams, laughter, bitterness, love lost. That old love song might be just a “precious melody,” but it almost brings you to your knees.
Six o’clock, right on the nose.
That’s when your family sat down for the evening meal when you were a kid, and nobody dared be late.
Back then, Dad sat on one end of the table, Mom on the other, and you ate what was put in front of you.
All for one, and one for all.
That could’ve been the motto for you and your two best friends. Growing up, you were the Three Musketeers, sharing gossip, secrets, crushes, families, and truths. Everybody knew that you three were close as paint on a wall, and where there was one the other two weren’t far away.
Your child has caught some bug that’s going around.
He has a terminal case of The Gimmes, and he’s not getting any better. It’s “Gimme that” and “Buy me this” all day long. It’s Gimme Gimme Gimme, usually accompanied by whining, pleading, and a maddening inability to understand the word “no.”



