Part Devil Wears Prada coming-of-age story, part career advice, and part memoir, Shards in My Hair captures the chaos and the sometimes unfair and challenging aspects of business, while pulling back the curtain on the level of persistence and resilience that it takes to make it. Counter to Lean In’s heavy-handed blame-game of what women “should do,” Shards explores what women (and men!) actually have to do to survive and thrive.

But it’s not just about business. As a single mom, Cindie Jamison pulls back the curtain on the very real challenges of trying to juggle it all. While she ascended the ranks to ultimately become chairman of the board—in a decidedly nonlinear fashion—she raised four little boys, juggled childcare and parental issues alone, and dealt with financial setbacks and personal loss. Her story, while dramatic, is told from a joyful, lighthearted, and celebratory point of view.

She shares the lessons learned, generously offers advice about how she could have handled things differently, and counsels practical approaches to such things as “when to stay” vs. “when to go,” dealing with difficult personalities, and surviving being fired.

You will laugh out loud, learn practical approaches, perhaps become more empathetic to the exhaustion of being a single parent, and—hopefully—feel empowered.