I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag: A Memoir of a Life Through Events--the Ones You Plan and the Ones You Don't

by Jennifer Gilbert

Overview

I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag is a warm, wise, and wholly original memoir of survival, renewal, and transformation, by one of New York City’s most successful and respected special events coordinators.

With her top-level events company, Save the Date, Jennifer Gilbert has worked with Fortune 500 companies, broadcast media giants, international nonprofit organizations, and celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to Bill Gates and beyond. Yet few of her clients or colleagues have known, until now, that Jennifer not only a self-made success: she’s also a survivor. After a random, near-fatal attack left her body in critical condition on a crowded city street, and left her with emotional wounds that would take years to heal, Jennifer embarked upon a journey to reclaim her life.

This is her story, in her own words: I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag, an intimate, poignant, inspiring memoir of perseverance, rediscovery, and hope.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062076007
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/30/2013
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	827,243
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Jennifer Gilbert is the Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Save the Date®, the New York–based special-events company. She was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, received Working Woman magazine's Entrepreneurial Award of Excellence, and her company was voted one of its top 500 woman-owned businesses. An in-demand speaker, she has appeared at numerous schools and industry events, and her work has been featured in People magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and InStyle Weddings, as well as on Fox and CNN. She lives in New York City with her husband and their three children.

Table of Contents

Author's Note ix

Prologue 1

Part I The Jen Suit

Chapter 1 At Least 11

Chapter 2 Turn the Channel 25

Chapter 3 This Is Not My Fabulous Life 39

Part II Red Lipstick

Chapter 4 Putting My Face On 49

Chapter 5 Running as Fast as I Can 59

Chapter 6 Chaos Theory 65

Chapter 7 Miss Gilbert, This Is Going to Be Very Hard for You 73

Part III Figure Eight

Chapter 8 Pins and Needles 85

Chapter 9 Bicycle Pants 97

Chapter 10 The Scary Mask 107

Chapter 11 I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag 119

Part IV The Best Man

Chapter 12 Best Friends 133

Chapter 13 After All These Years 147

Chapter 14 Something Is Happening 157

Part V Faith

Chapter 15 Class Parent 171

Chapter 16 All Clear 179

Chapter 17 Illumination 189

Epilogue 203

Acknowledgments 211

About the Author 214

What People are Saying About This

Dani Shapiro

“This is a beautiful and brave memoir, full of hard-won wisdom. I read it in one sitting. It speaks from the heart and to the heart.”

Editorial Reviews

A savvy, often funny account of the ups and downs of building a business; a penetrating look at how [Gilbert] overcame the psychological scars of the attack; a warm and happy ending. You’ll laugh with her, you’ll learn from her, and you’ll be glad you made her acquaintance.” — Parade

“Packed with funny stories about bridezillas and demented captains of industry, this is a fascinating tale of how we regain joy in the aftermath of unspeakable horror.” — People (3 ½ stars)

” It would be easy to get caught up in the chatty details of all the near-disasters Gilbert encounters in her fast-paced life in the world of event planning but this memoir is about more than cake and flowers.” — Library Journal

“Breathtakingly honest, funny, and surprising, I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag is the unforgettable story of how, after a traumatic encounter in her twenties, Jennifer Gilbert found her way back to happiness. I couldn’t stop reading.” — Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project

“This is a beautiful and brave memoir, full of hard-won wisdom. I read it in one sitting. It speaks from the heart and to the heart.” — Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion

“What distinguishes Gilbert’s memoir from the inspirational survivor pack is her willingness to share the bumps along her road to recovery. . . . [A] likable memoir that shows we can choose to be more than the sum of those events that are beyond our control.” — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Packed with funny stories about bridezillas and demented captains of industry, this is a fascinating tale of how we regain joy in the aftermath of unspeakable horror.

People (3 ½ stars)

Breathtakingly honest, funny, and surprising, I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag is the unforgettable story of how, after a traumatic encounter in her twenties, Jennifer Gilbert found her way back to happiness. I couldn’t stop reading.

Gretchen Rubin

This is a beautiful and brave memoir, full of hard-won wisdom. I read it in one sitting. It speaks from the heart and to the heart.

Dani Shapiro

A savvy, often funny account of the ups and downs of building a business; a penetrating look at how [Gilbert] overcame the psychological scars of the attack; a warm and happy ending. You’ll laugh with her, you’ll learn from her, and you’ll be glad you made her acquaintance.

Parade

Packed with funny stories about bridezillas and demented captains of industry, this is a fascinating tale of how we regain joy in the aftermath of unspeakable horror.

People (3 ½ stars)

"Packed with funny stories about bridezillas and demented captains of industry, this is a fascinating tale of how we regain joy in the aftermath of unspeakable horror."

(3 1/2 stars) - People Magazine

“Packed with funny stories about bridezillas and demented captains of industry, this is a fascinating tale of how we regain joy in the aftermath of unspeakable horror.

People

The story of a dynamic New York event planner who forged a new path for success in the wake of tragedy. "When everyone else was standing around gasping, I went to my fix-it place," writes debut memoirist Gilbert of her grace under pressure when handling last-minute snafus at galas and weddings. Yet for many years, this first female recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award lived a double life. On the outside, she wore power suits and bright red lipstick, presided icily over the all-female staff at her company, Save the Date (even earning the dubious distinction of making notorious Vogue editor Anna Wintour "look like a pussycat") and threw lavish parties at the best Manhattan clubs. Inside, she carried shame and fear, the dual burdens of surviving a horrific, random attack. Gilbert's recollections of that day in 1991 when she knocked on a friend's apartment door, only to look up and see a man charging toward her with rage in his eyes, are hair-raising enough to make even the most trusting person look over her shoulder when walking down the street. This scene provides a backdrop for the many changes she experienced during the next 20 years, as she mourned the loss of her optimistic younger self and embarked on a career trajectory that allowed her to enjoy life through others' celebrations until she could accept that she deserved her own joy. Of course, she eventually found true love and happiness, but with a series of Jane Austen–esque twists. What distinguishes Gilbert's memoir from the inspirational survivor pack is her willingness to share the bumps along her road to recovery. The story doesn't go predictably from devastation to bliss; she makes mistakes, suffers loss, endures heartache and punishes herself by dieting and over-exercising. A mostly likable memoir that shows we can choose to be more than the sum of those events that are beyond our control.

Kirkus Reviews