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Book Review: Dealing With Divas by Shelley
Anderson
A Survivor's Kit for the Celebrity Personal Assistant
(or Anyone with a Pesky Boss)
I have to admit that one of the most fun parts of being a
reviewer is that you learn something new every day. It was not
until I had read Dealing With Divas that I realized there was
an association solely committed to the plight of those that
work for the famous. Well there is, and it is called The
Association of Celebrity Personal Assistants.
I am not a personal assistant to a celebrity, but I certainly
understand the issues involved. Being a reviewer and
interviewer I play on the edge of the celebrity world. Some of
the folks I have worked with are indeed 'different.' My
favorite story concerns an interview I had scheduled with Keith
Emerson, I called him at the prearranged time of noon, and get
his answering machine, I leave a message and move on to the
next project. It had been a long day, so about 9pm my wife and
I call it a day. The next thing I know is my wife Jan shaking
me awake, and saying "Honey, you are going to hate me, the
phone rang, I thought it was Joey (her 15 year old son), so I
think I have just been rude to Keith Emerson."
On the whole I have found the rich and famous to be fairly easy
to get along with, but on the other hand I have seen up close
and personal just how demanding the Divas can be. Last summer
my wife and I were the invited guests of a very famous singer,
he wasn't a diva, but his wife certainly was. I watched in awe
as from the stage, with mic in her hand she gave the three guys
running the soundboard a good solid berating for everyone
within a mile radius to hear, and the concert wasn't due to
start for another 2 hours. The poor guys had glazed expressions
on their faces, and were obviously wondering why the hell they
had taken the job!
While Dealing With Divas is clearly aimed at the niche market
of Personal Assistants that work with the sometimes eccentric
and egocentric, it is a delightful little read. It is by no
means a 'show and tell,' there are no wild revelations about
your favorite star, but there are some truly funny anecdotal
tales.
My one criticism of Dealing With Divas is that it is not nearly
long enough. You just start to enjoy the subject, and maybe
speculate about some of the situations, and Shelley Anderson
pulls the rug out from under you, there are no more pages to
read!
She shares one wonderful 'agony column' letter that she
received that I think really encapsulates the entire industry
of dealing with the rich and famous:
I'm fed up. My boss is unappreciative of how I got her on a
fully booked, nonstop flight from New York to Bangladesh. She
was unhappy that it was a 757, not a 747, and that the seats
were blue and not maroon.
What a fun read, you can find out more at the Dealing With
Divas web site, and order your copy from
Amazon.
by Simon Barrett - 7th August 2008
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Simon Barrett is an adult educator in Calgary, Alberta. With
the 11 months a year of winter, he reads a lot of books! He is
also a contributing editor for http://www.bloggernews.net
and maintains a personal blog at http://zzsimonb.blogspot.com
Review Source: http://bb-articles.com
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