18: Book Review: “Birth Order: Why We Are the Way We Are” by Kevin Leman

Everyone I spoke with has strong feelings about the order in which they were born.

“Birth Order: Why We Are the Way We Are” has provoked so much conversation for me, with my loved ones, as well as strangers. Whether you were first, middle, or last born, Kevin Leman purports that birth order is pivotal in shaping your personality, for better or worse. For this reason, I really enjoyed trying to apply the claims shared by Dr. Leman.

Here are a few things to know before you read:

• Insightful with many variables. All birth orders aren’t the same. All first borns aren’t perfectionists. All middle borns aren’t well-adapted. All last borns aren’t charming and carefree.

• Repetitive. I think the book was written with the person in mind who ‘skips to the best parts.’ In other words, information was repeated to capture all attention spans. Feel free to flip around. You’ll get most of the context almost anywhere you land.

* The Way You Are. The subtitle of the book points to the why. The author answers this question by including some of the outcomes of all of the birth orders in the following ways:

• best/worst career opportunities
• best/worst marital combinations (Hint: Opposites attract.)
• tips on successfully persuading birth orders

As an educator, parent, friend, and sibling, this book confirmed what I long suspected but couldn’t articulate. It will work to inform both my professional and personal life. Read it and let me know what you think.