Dr. Antoinette Smith has done something a lot of marriage book authors have not. She has invited her girlfriends from around the world to a global table laden with coffee, tea and pastries to pull the covers off of misconceptions and accepted beliefs about being a good wife. While she pours out her memoirs of the heart, she delicately yet definitively shatters the definition of an independent woman. A professional and financially-comfortable woman, Smith found herself on a journey of preparation to become a wife after she had focused her life on being the consummate professional. This was a journey well into her professional and maternal development. Yet, she knew there was something within that called out to her ? she wanted to be married again. She wanted to be a wife. Not just a wife, but a good wife! She wanted a successful career, to be a great wife, and the right husband. The problem? There were a plethora of books, but none that told the fiercely independent woman that it is okay to temporarily lay aside her corporate demeanor and simply learn how to love and to be interdependent. There was no clear roadmap that pointed out how to overcome the pitfalls of having a mindset that stated you cannot manage both your career and a family, nor how to move from a paradigm-preserving mindset to a paradigm-modifying mindset, and how to navigate through the wilderness of life transitions. Even more powerful and engaging than the revelations Smith shares are the THOUGHTS TO PONDER sections at the end of each chapter. The questions posed allow readers to have a customized, transitional, and sustainable experience. Every question probes, challenges and engages the reader to examine her thoughts on love, relationships and marriage, and how thoughts, beliefs and behaviors have thwarted their efforts toward achieving marital, family, and career success.
About the Author: Dr. Smith is a wife, mother, sister, friend, researcher, and professor. From day one, she has always lived with a purpose and a desire to help others. Her positive, motivating, and engaging mindset emanates from her spirit. She was raised in a loving blended family and now has one of her own. Dr. Smith knows what it is like to step outside your comfort zone, rise to new levels in life, and persevere through the challenges. Her humbleness, love for individuals, experiences with all walks of life, transparency, and wisdom allows her to easily connect with individuals. Dr. Smith received her PhD from the University of South Florida. She also attend the College of William & Mary as well as Christopher Newport University. She has worked for major corporate and government organizations (e.g., Big 4 accounting firm, the CIA, NASA, the Inspector General, and universities). Surviving as a single parent, excelling in her career, and serving the community are all areas of life that came naturally to Dr. Smith. She, however, lacked the desire, growth, and knowledge of understanding the importance of being capable of balancing both a career and a family that includes a husband. Once she gained this wisdom, she was able to unlock the door that kept her blind to the number of advantages to marriage. Most importantly, she unlocked the door that allowed her to grow to a new level. Dr. Smith's research has been published in premier journals, such as The Accounting Review, the Journal of Information Systems, Decision Sciences, and the International Journal of Accounting Information Systems. She is also a speaker, presenting her work worldwide. She is the recipient of many awards, scholarships, and grants, including Honorary Recipient of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Auditing Alchemy Inc. Grant, the Russell Ewald Award for Academic Excellence and Human Service, the Institute of Internal Auditors-Michael J. Barrett Doctoral Dissertation Award, The PhD Project, and the Florida Education Fund. In her first book, You Are More Than What Meets The Eye: The Independent Woman's Guide to Becoming Wifely Material, Dr. Smith believes that both women and their husbands (future or current) will benefit. She is from the Hampton Roads area and currently resides in South Florida.