The Empress Has No Clothes: Conquering Self-Doubt to Embrace Success

This is a wonderful book if you have ever dealt with the imposter syndrome or self confidence.

I really liked her writing style. It made reading the book easy to read and comprehend. However, I feel like the book made me somewhat doubt myself even more...feeling like an imposter of imposter syndrome... because everyone in this book went to Yale, Harvard, Columbia...they worked as top executives at Tupperware, PepsiCo, Avon...they worked internationally and took spa vacations to figure out their life and deal with their imposter syndrome. As a Director at a very small non-profit and as a person who has only worked at two companies during my 25 years of adult life, this book made me less concerned about feeling like an imposter and more concerned about the fact that I haven’t done enough and don’t have the Ivy League education enough to warrant feeling like an imposter. I think I need to find a book that’s about imposter syndrome for smaller fish. I assume that exists somewhere.

This book is well written. You feel like the author (Roche) is sitting across the table from you, sipping on coffee as she shares her experiences and others who have felt less than they should have for the roles they play in life. About ten years ago, I began hearing similar stories from other professional women who had graduate college with good grades, and were succeeding in the workplace. Like me, they felt they were imposters. That if others only knew about the little person hiding inside of their psyche, they would not be allowed to stay in these posiitons. Roche shares stories like these from her own experience and from the lives of others. This "feeling" some of us have (women and men) has a name - the imposter syndrome. She compares it to being like an empress, who has no clothes. Great read. Very helpful for those who need to overcome these false feelings of inadequacy because they aren't perfect enough, or didn't achieve high enough, etc.

OMG I loved this book. I have been talking about the impostor syndrome for years, both as someone who has felt it and as someone who coaches other people. I love how Joyce uses both men and women to discuss their feelings. I also loves how she breaks it down not just by a particular gender, race, socioeconomic class, but as something that can happen to everyone. If you know someone who is on their way up the ladder, by them this book. It is also a fairly easy, quick read. It can be read in less than a week.

If I had read this book much earlier I would have enjoyed my success, rather than doubting it. This is one of those rare personal growth topics for which advice, rather than just aging into my own wisdom, would have made a difference.The Empress is a unique weave of a very personal memoir, insights about the insecurities that we all share, and practical advice for moving forward with confidence. I have purchased the book for my adult nieces and nephews, with the hope that they will take risks, stretch, and grow - with joy, zest and power!

This is a good read but if you’re looking for answers and ways to deal with your own career and interpersonal challenges, you may need to dig dipper and start with a different source. Byron Katie, Iyanla Vanzant or Brene’ Brown.

The book was OK. Imposter syndrome is interesting, and I'm glad that there is something we as women can read about it. But I struggle with at some point this just being about an insecure person. Additionally, it's really hard to relate to these women when they say they had to check themselves into a spa for a week to decide which job offer to accept. That is not something most folks can afford, nor can we relate to. I wouldn't take this as gospel, but it was a quick and easy read.o

I really enjoyed this book! It is the first book I have read that deals with the Impostor Syndrome. I found great comfort, encouragement and hope in “The Empress Has No Clothes”.

I wonder if the author ever doubted herself: she has been very successful, despite being a black woman from the Southern Staes, born when women of any background were seldom successful in business. I guess the message is, 'if I can succeed, what is holding you back?'