Katie McCollom

No matter what you want to be when you grow up there comes a point in every woman’s life where, as Tiffany Dufu explains, your personal and professional tracks are on “an inevitable collision course.”

Her debut book, Drop the Ball, released February 14, is the ambitious woman’s New Testament. In this part memoir part handbook, she shares personal revelations learned while trying to be everything to everyone. It was a packed house at The Bookstore Café on Thursday, February 16th, when Dufu shared her inspiration for creating the book. Among the anxious audience of women and men, were Dufu’s family, a mentor, and two mentees.

The unrealistic expectation for women to excel in every facet of life is introduced to us at a young age. Growing up Dufu saw Clair Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” raise five well-adjusted kids while keeping a spotless home and as if that feat isn’t enough, as Dufu puts it, “Clair made partner at her law firm in the second season.”

Dufu was forthcoming with the fact that rock bottom is a place she had hit more than once and wanted to share the lessons she learned on the way down and on the way back up, so that other women wouldn’t have to learn these lessons on their own. In Drop the Ball, Dufu gives women permission to let the picture-perfect image that they are striving for go and reconnect with their own personal mission. Forget being a “good” daughter, wife, employee, housekeeper, friend…instead be good at the things that are most important and for the rest, just be.

Check out Dufu reading an excerpt from, Drop the Ball, here.