I won’t lie, I was definitely wary of a book on the female brain written by a man. And it did come across as preachy, even slightly patronizing, in some sections — but in a way that suggests his confidence and self-imbued authority comes from education and experience rather than sexism (benevolent or otherwise).

The writing itself was stilted in some parts, awkward but comprehensible. (In particular I take issue with the phrase “brain envy,” whose connotation doesn’t seem to match the author’s intention.) It was simultaneously alarmist — “Your habits are literally killing you” — and repetitive; the early chapters in particular were loaded with anecdotes and brain scans that seemed to belabor the same few points.

That said, there was a lot of good informaion presented in this book. Concrete exercises and suggestions for habit improvement make the book a solid starting point for improving one’s own female brain, though I wouldn’t recommend it as one’s only (or even primary) resource for that pursuit.