From the Publisher

Star Jones Reynolds had done it all. College on scholarship, law school on loans, and life by faith. She had achieved a prestigious career as a lawyer and prosecutor, provided much-needed calm and insight while reporting the Rodney King and O. J. Simpson trials on television, and landed a spot cohosting one of America's most popular daytime television shows, The View. Then why was she feeling so down?

It all began when Star took a close look at herself and her life and realized she wasn't happy with what she saw: obesity precluded her from crossing her legs, she needed an asthma inhaler, she couldn't fasten her own necklace, and, worst of all, she got too tired to shop -- a disaster because Star Jones Reynolds is a seriously committed shopper.

Then she realized something else: with all her extraordinary accomplishments, none of it mattered without true love. Thinking long and hard, she finally understood that she hadn't yet met the man of her dreams because she wasn't ready for him.

Star decided to make it happen. She began a personal journey to reconstitute her physical look, emotional state, and already strong spirituality. Even if she didn't find love, it would be a win-win situation because she'd emerge from the experience a healthier, happier woman -- one who could truly shine. Unless you live on another planet, you know Star succeeded in her quest and did find true love -- and it wasn't that hard at all. In Shine, she shares it all in her wise, revealing, irreverent, laugh-out-loud style.

Shine is divided into three main sections, each exploring core issues of interest to women. Part One guides women toward being their most attractivephysical selves using Star's personal secrets on losing weight and finding hair, fashion, and makeup chic (inexpensively). Part Two asks tough questions about emotional preparedness for a relationship and shows you how to think like lawyers, and how to get your financial and emotional houses in order. Part Three delves into a woman's spiritual life -- discover how to talk to God no matter what your religion. Spiking the book are Star's "absolutes" -- truisms that have always worked for her and continue to give her guidance -- quizzes and self-assessment exercises that will help you focus on your particular strengths and weaknesses.

Everyone knows Star Jones Reynolds is a success story, a happy, rough-edges-to-emotional-and-financial-riches tale. Until you read this book, you won't know how she got there -- and how you can echo her triumphs and shine.

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Read a Sample Chapter

Shine

HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

I decided to begin getting ready physically.

Listen -- if I didn't feel or look well physically, nothing would work and I would have a snowball's chance in hell of finding my perfect mate. Physical well-being depended very much on my general lifestyle -- my health, my energy level, my weight, the way I presented my physical self to the world. Even the clothes I wore, the friends and lovers I chose, the way I made decisions and dealt with anxiety -- all were reflected in my physical self. Too often, I'd heard and even proclaimed, I really need to find myself. Well, if I didn't know who I was by forty, it was time to get on the stick. Of one thing I was sure: I was definitely not the best I could be. You know what? It came to me that until then, I didn't think I was ready to take complete responsibility for my lifestyle, which included that physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. I was too busy vaulting over the top in my career. Some people are ready earlier -- that's all there is to it -- like my cohost Elisabeth Hasselbeck; at twenty-six she had the career, the husband, and the baby. She had a level of maturity based on personal life experiences that saw her through.

Not me -- I couldn't do it all at once. But now I had a goal: because I wanted to find someone who would be my life mate, I knew I had to work on myself -- make Star ready for him. But who was he?

Before I transformed myself physically, I needed an approximate visual image of my idea of a great future mate. So, I did something silly, but it worked. Just for fun, many years ago I started putting together a very specific, long list of what I wanted in a guy -- and believe me, it was loooooong.

Over the years, I added to the list, which ranged from height to weight, from background to intellect, from lifestyle to spirituality. One day on The View, I told my cohosts about the list. Naturally, they wanted to see it so they could make fun of me, but being a good sport, I brought it in and we talked about it on the show. I remember Barbara really taking me to task about the list.

"You'll never get it all, Star," she said. "No man can match up to this wish list."

I didn't back down; I knew what I wanted, and I kept my list. (As an aside, at our engagement party, I told everyone what Barbara had said, and I noted that I'd gotten everything but the billionaire part. "Not yet" was Al's classic response.)

I don't know what made me do this, but one day, in the middle of my own self-evaluation, I printed out the list on my computer in big, black letters, then stood at the bathroom mirror holding it right next to my body. And I asked myself: can I hold up against this man I want? The truthful answer? No. The way I looked and felt simply didn't match up to that guy. You can't ask for Denzel Washington or Clive Owen or Jimmy Smits if you're walking around looking all busted. You cannot.

Here's the deal: if you can't match up to the list, you either have to change the list or change yourself, one or the other. You have to live in the truth. I looked over my list and knew I had to live in the truth. I also knew I had the ability and, finally, the maturity -- and yes, the honesty -- to assess myself truthfully. I did just that -- checked out my lifestyle -- and came up short. For starters, I was too heavy, I was really heavy. Say it, Star -- obese, I was obese. My clothes and makeup weren't as pretty and stylish as they used to be. And I sure wasn't making the best dating choices. No Prince Charming for Star. But, I reasoned, if I worked on it, maybe there would be someone else out there for me, someone even better than Prince Charming.

Better than the prince? It could happen. I had faith.

So, let me ask you. Could you make a list like mine? Could you figure out what you really need in a wonderful man -- and what you could live without? If you want to do what Auntie Star did, the first step is to answer some vital questions, truthfully.

There is this urban legend that a woman over forty has a better chance of being killed by terrorists than getting married for the first time. I don't think the statistic is accurate . . . but the point is. Society thinks that when you hit the big 4-0 you may as well hang it up because your days are numbered. I was determined to prove this wrong. I didn't plan to change my list, so I had to change myself. I wanted love in my life, but first I needed to love my life. A man, even the ideal one on that list, couldn't do it for me. That was my job.

The Art of Self-Assessment

Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control,
These three alone lead life to sovereign power.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

I may have had a lot of work to do in that job of changing myself, but I already knew those three things Tennyson talked about. It was important, yes, to revere and celebrate yourself -- who would love and honor you if you weren't proud of whom you'd become? It was equally important to be able to control yourself -- when it came to many things like overeating, overspending, and over–mouthing off. But maybe the most important trait a person could pick up in her years was self-knowledge, which included the ability to honestly assess herself so she would know where she had to change -- if her happiness depended on change.

Continues...

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Excerpted from Shine by Star Reynolds Copyright © 2006 by Star Reynolds. Excerpted by permission.
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