Dump 'Em by Jodyne Speyer

When I was in college I had my share of nightmare roommates. I had roommates who would steal food, change the channel without asking while my other roommates and I were watching TV, use my cell phone when I wasn’t in the room, fight with their boyfriends at all hours of the night….I could go on and on. It’s too bad I didn’t have the book Dump 'Em: How to Break Up with Anyone from Your Best Friend to Your Hairdresser by Jodyne L. Speyer (Collins Living, ARV $15.99) back then. Her advice on how to dump The Roommate would’ve come in very handy.

“Featuring personal stories, useful scripts, and interviews with experts such as Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser, funnyman Adam Carolla, and Michael Jackson's attorney, Thomas Mesereau, Dump 'Em is a practical guide for giving any bad relationship the boot. Jodyne L. Speyer provides a roadmap to finding your own way of saying "thanks, but no thanks." Written with honesty, empathy, and ruthless wit, Dump 'Em will teach you to conquer your fear of confrontation and master the art of the peaceful and permanent breakup. So what are you waiting for? Dump 'em!”

Dump ‘Em was insightful, helpful, and very funny as Speyer shares her personal experiences involving different types of people you may want to dump. One of my favorite stories is about The Carpooler in Kauai. I don’t carpool, but since I live in Hawaii, I thought it was very amusing how she was introduced to "Hawaiian Time."

Speyer offers tips on how to dump all sorts of people—Neighbors, Mechanics, Housekeepers, and more. Of course I could relate to The Roommate the most, but I also could’ve used her Dump ‘Em tips and advice for:

• The Contractor: My neighbor and I used the same contractor to build a wall, and one day his entire family showed up. The mom was using our water hose to wash their truck while their kids ran around naked in our neighbor’s yard.
• The Hairdresser: The owner of a salon, who also did my hair, forgot the keys to her salon and all customers had to wait at least 30 minutes for someone with back-up keys to arrive so she could open up her salon. And it’s happened more than once! And she didn’t even do a good job with my hair! It was a friend’s family member, so you can imagine how I was afraid to dump her.
• The Assistant: When I was working in an executive office we had a nice assistant, but she was on the phone talking to her friends and family members at least 90% of the work day, so I ended up doing a lot of the work myself.

In all of the above situations I just kept my mouth shut and suffered in silence. However, I know if I ever find myself in similar situations again, I can simply refer to Dump ‘Em for advice on how to handle them.

Dump ‘Em not only gives you suggestions on how to dump certain people in your life that’s simply making your own miserable, but there are also In A Pinch (last resort) tips that are quite hilarious (e.g. pretend to see a ghost to get your Houseguest to leave), Q&As with celebrities and professionals, and great tidbits of trivia (Dumpipedia).

Speyer also shares how she's grown and what she’s learned from her various experiences, which has helped her to identify and deal with potential “dumpees” so she doesn’t find herself in similar situations again.

Whether or not you have someone to dump, you’ll find Dump 'Em a resourceful, witty and amusing read.

Shop: You can purchase Dump 'Em on Amazon.com or at retailers online and nationwide.

Thank you to HarperCollins for providing the product(s) for review and/or giveaway.

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