Reviewed by Dinorah Blackman for Readers' Favorite

It doesn’t matter how old you are, you are at risk of being judged and labeled by others. In The Power of Labels, author Marsy Beron highlights the fact that people are constantly watching us and classifying us according to mostly unfair standards that have been imposed by society and culture. Once we start school, the issue seems to exacerbate. Mom and dad are no longer there to help us manoeuvre through the labyrinth of labels and so, inevitably, a few names stick. As time goes on, children -- even those who were victimized -- begin to do some labeling of their own. This is how the cycle survives. They label their parents and other family members, they label their friends and acquaintances, and they even label themselves. The labels we assign ourselves are usually based on the unfair assessment of others and it’s quite a task to try to distinguish between the labels we have given to ourselves and those given to us by others. In essence, the labels we carry also become the filter through which we see and understand our world. But it’s never too late to straighten up the crooked mirror and replace the negative labels with positive ones.

In The Power of Labels, Marsy Beron shares candidly how harmful a seemingly inoffensive habit really is. She generously shares her own stories and those of others in order to help the reader see the point she’s trying to make. After identifying the problem, Marsy Beron offers real useful advice in which she urges the reader to rise to a new level; a level where the ideas and opinions of others are no longer harmful and painful. Marsy Beron encourages readers of all ages to love the stage they are in. The Power of Labels pushes us to take responsibility for our lives to the extent that we do not allow the judgment and opinions of others to affect our self-esteem. Marsy Beron urges us to go back into our past and dethrone those authority figures that might have hurt and offended us with their unfair assessments.