Book Description

Though best known today as the star of the television series Once & Again and Sisters, Sela Ward considers herself a small-town girl. The eldest of four children, she was raised by a father who helped her believe in herself, and by a mother who taught her the importance of virtues such as self-respect, grace, and sacrifice. In her hometown or Meridian, Mississippi, Sela learned ways that would remain with her throughout life.

Customer Reviews (19)

Boring Read
At least the book was accurately titled.It was definitely more memoir than autobiography.I always hate to give bad reviews to books that a person seems to have put so much effort into, but this was just boring.I am a big fan of biographies and this one falls short.Being a proper southern lady, Sela does not go into detail about what seems to have been an interesting life.Instead she spends lots of time talking about her thoughts and feelings.It all seemed forced.

She speaks in detail about how great life is in Mississippi, yet she raises her kids in LA, of all places.She seems to be a good mother, but yet her children have spent hours in the care of nannies as she goes to work in the wee hours of the morning and returns long after they are put to bed.

Quite the confusing and contrary mishmash, but I understand her need for putting something down on paper.Losing a mother does that to a person.Perhaps she should have just kept it for herself, family and friends.They would not have found it boring I'm sure.

great book
homesick is an awsome book. her life is interesting to read about!!!buy it!!!!its the best

Sela Ward Finds Her Way Back Home
Go down south with Mississippi born actress Sela Ward. Homesick is a refreshing look at the everyday life of a young girl as she moves from small town life to young adulthood in New York and then settles in Hollywood.

Sela shares the story of her family stating, "The Wards have always walked a fine line between conviction and orneriness..." She admires her father and her mother. She talks much of the way she grew up as a southern girl, the south's traditions and the legacies, girl talk sessions, cliques, church, the family restaurant, charm school and even hanging at the local Quik Stop. It's rather refreshing that the book focuses on the positives of life.

Sela speaks of her own life, though not with Hollywood spectacles on. She shares her climb to success but does not allow it to take over the entire telling of her story. Her claim to fame is only part of her. Her family, her history, her place of birth are so much more.

Homesick also touches on issues such as racism in the South, the tragedy of September 11, overindulged children and drugs. The book also details Sela's mother's death and the hardship on the family.

The book is generously sprinkled with photographs which tell a story themselves. You'll see the young Sela, the model, the actress, but mostly you'll see the real Sela Ward, the one who stood at her mother's knee and listened to the stories of her family.

A Lady With Inbred Southern Charm
The memoir of a beautiful woman who went to NY City and then
Hollywood but longed to go home again.
A person can never really go home again, as another Southerner,
Thomas Wolfe wrote, but Sela Ward tried very hard to duplicate
her upbringing,when she married and had two chidren.
This is a book of a woman who developed in Meridian,Miss-
issippi;during the 1960's and 1970's.Her family isn't perfect
but they are good people.
A younger Sela neede more in her life to express her ambitions so she moved away.What she also found was she also needed
stability and family.
Unable to have a realistic family life in Hollywood-she
and her husband Howard Shermanset about building a newfamily home back in Meridan, Mississippi.Here they are surrounded by Sela's close relatives and their children are
able to lead a more rustic life.As often as possible they
reside in comfort and live here.
This is unlike any Hollywood story.People respect each
other and help one another.
It is refreshing to read about a Hollywood star, who is just like other ordinary folks.Her lovely Southern charm comes
through in the telling of her Family's customs.

In my own thoughts I felt...
This book is truely amazing. I cannot express all of my feelings towards it. To flip through the pages of Homesick and read of all of Sela's discoveries, embarkments, and life alterments was none other than exciting.I had known "of" Sela from "Once and Again" and from some of her movies but this book showed me more.It is probably hard to really describe one's life in a book, including describing one's own life, but Sela tackled the task and completed it. It's a book that no one, who is a fan of Sela, could skip reading, let alone put down for a second, while reading.I never stopped. True essence at heart. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Online investing may get the lion's share of attention, but Jennifer Openshaw says the Internet really is the perfect vehicle for managing all personal finance information--especially for women, whose fiscal requirements often are ignored by traditional guides to money management. In What's Your Net Worth?, Openshaw, founder of the Women's Financial Network and a frequent financial TV commentator, describes a complete 12-step wealth-building program that combines sound advice concerning women's precise needs with Web sites that should be helpful in addressing them. It boils down to mixing time-honored (albeit gender-specific) techniques with today's technology to develop a three-part game plan Openshaw calls "Earn It, Save It, and Grow It!" Toward the second goal, for example, she describes various ways that expenses might be trimmed to increase savings, "not only by using online budgeting tools to get a handle on your spending but also by devising an online strategy to spend less on the things you still need to buy." Other individual actions focus on eliminating debt and building credit, protecting assets, minimizing taxes, increasing earnings, and giving back through charitable contributions. --Howard RothmanBook Description
Women are using the Internet more than ever--and more than men--to shop, to chat, and to manage their finances. As founder and CEO of the pioneering Women's Financial Network (WFN), Jennifer Openshaw has made it her mission to provide women with all of the advice and access they need to achieve financial security. Much more than a catalog of sites, What's Your Net Worth? is chock-full of tools to help women seize the opportunities that are available on the Internet, from IPO's to investment clubs, business financing, mortgages, retirement planning, and much more. It is packed with female-friendly advice to guide women toward financial prosperity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Wow!Awesome book!
I found this book to be the most informative financial book that I have every read.If you are only going to read one book to help you manage your finances, this is the one.I consider myself well informed and this book gave me ideas and methods of handing my finances that I had never heard of.I regularly recommend this book, it is great!

Sound advice - for men as well as women
Openshaw writes this book for women, but the advice is right on the money and can be used by everyone.An excellent feature of the book is the list of internet links at the end of each chapter.These references easily allow the reader to find additional information of any specific topic. For example, her brief discussion of options opens the door to using those investment tools to produce additional income.This is a topic often overlooked in books of this type.To learn how to use options, I also recommend THE SHORT BOOK ON OPTIONS.

Oprah found a great expert!
I saw Jennifer Openshaw on Oprah just a few days ago and was so impressed that I picked this book the very next day.Great information about how women can take charge of their financial futures.On the TV show Jennifer seemed to really understand the kinds of obstacles that stand between women and their financial goals, and after reading the book I think she has given us all a clear path to achieving them!Once you finish reading What's Your Net Worth? pass it on to your sister, your daughter, your mom, or your best friend.

Finding Financial Freedom
This book was fabulous! I loved the personal accounts of all the different women and their financial stories.It really spoke to me in particular because I was divorced several years ago, and all of our joint assets were in my husband's name. It was incredibly difficult to start all over again, trying to build credit, and get loans. I was forced to become financially independent, but learned everything the hard way. If only I had known earlier what I know now! I would recommend this book to any woman who is looking to build wealth or secure her financial future. A great resource no matter what your age, marital status, or career!

Street-wise tutorial for the aspiring financial wannabe
Fear of our own finances can literally leave us shaking when it comes to taking control of our financial lives.I travel on business, so I take Jennifer Openshaw's book with me on the road!I surf the Web sites she recommends when I have free time, and I read the antecdotes from women she's interviewed on the plane. I have bought numerous copies of the book for co-workers, and will be giving it to friends as well. It's a book that can be read quickly - but then re-read it, mark it up and make notes in the margin....above all, follow Jennifer's advice. She writes from the heart and experience. ... Read more