Book Review by Toni G. Sinns
Book Title: How
To Avoid Deadly Everyday Dangers: The Women’s Safety Guide
Authors: Susan
Winlaw and Alex Law
About the Authors:
Susan Winlaw was born and raised in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. She went to College Avenue Secondary School and then attended the University of Guelph where she received a BASc in Home Economics/Textiles. After graduation Susan started a long career at Sears Canada Inc. covering a variety of management roles - Textiles Lab Technician, Retail Department Manager, National Management/Buying positions and IT Project Manager. Susan is married to Alex Law and joined him as an automotive journalist in 1993. Susan has provided articles to newspapers and on line publications regarding safety in and around the car. All of this meant a lot of time away from home with many movies to watch in the air and in hotels. This added to the love of watching and commenting on movies with Alex at home. And it was the start of their themed movie guide book line. Susan provides a completely different perspective than Alex in the types of movies enjoyed. Together they cover a broad spectrum of interests. Susan is a member of WEN (Writers and Editors Network), eWomenNetwork, WINGS and other professional and social groups. Susan speaks to women's groups, libraries and schools about safety and security around cars as well as the writing/editing/ publishing experience. And although this is all wonderful, she’d rather be crocheting, sewing and watching movies with friends and family. Alex Law was born in England, spent a few years in Glasgow, and then was raised in Hamilton, Ontario, where he attended Central Secondary School and Mohawk College. He majored in Theatre Arts and English Literature at the University of Guelph and was heavily involved in student government and university affairs. Alex then began a career in journalism, writing about politics, general news, sports, cars, business, politics, and entertainment. He reviewed theatre for The Toronto Star and movies for newspapers in Oshawa and Durham Region. Alex has contributed to newspapers, magazines, websites and TV shows in Canada, England and the U.S., including the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, Car and Driver, Better Homes & Gardens, Popular Science, Automotive News, AutoWeek, and the Financial Times. Alex has also written a novel called To An Easy Grave which was published by St. Martin’s Press, New York. Alex is married to Susan Winlaw. Susan and Alex wrote Movies About Women (volume 1), Movies About Weddings and Movies About Christmas (also published by BAM Press) as well as Car Advice For Women (and Smart Men), which was published by Consumer Automotive Media Services (CAMS Publishing). Susan and Alex reside in Toronto, Ontario,
Canada.
Book Description:
Do Something To Save Yourself
To some extent, behavior modification -- do less of that, do more of the other
-- can have a mitigating affect on the various things that kill or harm women
every day. Taking steps that help you live longer and avoid various injuries is
nowhere more useful than it is with the fifth leading cause of death for all
women in America -- accidents, which primarily means car crashes, falls and
fires. For these mortal threats, the changes necessary to reduce your risk
mostly involve buying modification, which is much easier to do. As this book
hopes to make clear, if you make smart choices in several areas -- car
selection, kitchen and bathroom design, and stair awareness -- you can greatly
reduce your risks on the deadly accident front.
An Overview Of Safety Issues We Talk About
-The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety lists the cars that women should
avoid if safety is a top priority, and dozens of popular models are on it,
including Chevrolet Cruze, Fiat 500, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Mazda 3, Mini
Cooper, Toyota Corolla, VW Golf and many more.
-How setting up a Women’s Safety Circle at work or in your neighborhood could
help reduce risks that you can’t overcome on your own.
-For the sake of home decor concerns, women forego useful (but unattractive)
bathroom safety features.
-Women are largely unaware of how much scarring (mostly on the face) results
from various injuries, particularly from the car crashes that are the primary
cause of death for women under 35.
-Open-concept rooms that include kitchens increase dangers from fires,
stabbings, scalding and falls.
-Why pregnant women should seriously reconsider the time they spend in cars and
the way they drive.
-Living alone can present special safety challenges that can be mostly overcome
with some thought and some spending.
-The value of having a place to go during a home invasion or other personal
attack.
-Don’t leave anything loose in your car that you wouldn’t want to have hit you
in the face one day.
-How to spot a potential abuser before you start a relationship and it’s too
late.
-How drinking coffee can leave you scarred for life, on the face, chest and in
your lap.
-Perhaps it isn’t necessary to use a deadly weapon (an 8-inch butcher knife) to
cut up the carrots and celery for the healthy soup you’re making.
-Keeping teenage girls out of cars driven by teenage boys by using parent
pools, taxi and limo services would reduce their death rate.
-Adults backing up cars can easily avoid running over children or pets without
the use of a rear-view camera, if they make a little extra effort.
-If you’re planning on a romantic evening, you should probably consider the
need to practice safe candles.
-How thinking about a disastrous situation can help you stop it from actually
happening.
-A specific suggestion for how you could avoid ever stopping for gas again, and
why it’s important that your gas tank should be as full as you can keep it.
-Carry personal medical information to aid emergency workers.
-Red and processed meats present a special kind of danger.
-Techniques for avoiding the deadliest type of car crash that can happen to
you.
-A personal emergency kit should be built for life as you really drive it.
-Why you might want to get your tub converted into a shower stall.
-A flat tire doesn’t mean your can’t drive your car if you think you’re in
danger where you are.
-Ways that you might be attracting people looking for someone to rob.
-Bringing an infant into bed to sleep with you can be a very bad idea.
-Unique dangers for people who ride in those 15-seat vans.
-Putting kids, pets or anything you hold precious in the third row of a compact
CUV is an extremely bad decision.
-How bumper stickers can put your security at risk.
-Opening your door (even with a chain) can be the biggest mistake you’ll ever
make.
-Think about a car that can call for help and bring emergency aid to your exact
location if you can’t.
My Review
Chapters: This book is broken down into sections.
Section one is the Overview and describes what you can expect to learn and read
in the upcoming sections. Section two (Chapter One) is the longest but for some
good reasons. It takes you through each area of your vehicle and explains what
dangers could be awaiting you in multiple situations. Section three (Chapter
Two) is about your home and the multiple dangers that could possibly happen. We
like to think our homes are safe but you can never be sure. The last section
four (Chapter Three) is about when you are away from home and an array of
things you may encounter while out and about.
Each chapter is full of tips, tricks, advice and information to help you
make the choice to be safer. They do not require you to follow all the things
they list but give you a large collection of information to help you become
safe in your car, your home, and while out of the home.
My Favorite Tips:
In chapter one about the car my favorite tip is about Medical Info Helps
Emergency Workers Save you. This is a very smart concept and very easy to do. This
could help not only save your life but maybe someone else’s life as well. In
chapter two about the home my favorite tip is about a safe room. Having a safe
place to go in the case someone comes into your home uninvited. I will probably
start preparing one of my rooms in this fashion myself as a fear of someone
breaking into my home has always been very strong in my mind. In the last chapter
about being away from the home my favorite tip is to use your cell phone to
help you in scary and dark areas. This not only will help allude potential
attackers but also will help someone know where you are at the time and can
possibly help save your life if things did turn out badly.
Full Concept:
Over all this book has many different tips that you may or may not agree with.
Every person is different and every person’s priority to safety is different. However,
this book gives you the information needed to search out more information, make
the change now, or think about rather you would like to make the change. This
book is to provide you with the information you need to make the changes in
your life. There is still a requirement by you to start making the changes.
Overall Rating: 4
out of 5 stars. This book gives you options. You can choose to or not to change
areas of your life to be safer. Also you can choose if you want to change
everything or just some things. This book gives you a large sum of ways to
change things in your life, places to seek out more information, and ways to
start or join programs, organizations or support groups around your town.
