
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Amazon Prime includes:
Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
- Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
Buy new:
$14.95$14.95
Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com
Save with Used - Good
$13.90$13.90
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Zoom Books Company

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the author
OK
Perfectionism: A Practical Guide to Managing "Never Good Enough" Paperback – February 22, 2019
Purchase options and add-ons
For perfectionists of all types, whether children or adults, this practical guide explains myths about perfectionism and provides a new paradigm with practical steps to turn the negative into positive, build resilience, and develop optimism.
For Parents, Teachers, and Even Young ReadersWhether you're a parent, a teacher, or even a tween or teen, this readable book will guide you through the maze and struggle of perfectionism, helping you implement the strategies that will work for you.
Research-based, Everyday Life ApprovedPerfectionism translates the research on goal setting, perseverance, mindset, and habits into tips and hacks for taming the perfectionist in all of us.
Legacy Award WinnerPerfectionism is the winner of the 2018 TAGT Legacy Award for the best book for parents of the gifted.
About the AuthorLisa Van Gemert is an educator, widely-known speaker, and the former Youth and Education Ambassador for Mensa. An expert in the care and feeding of gifted children, she shares her expertise on her website, giftedguru.com.
What Others Are Saying“Finally, a book on perfectionism that delivers on its promise of managing the "never good enough" lives … highly-readable and engaging … marries theory and practice with exquisite clarity … sound advice.”
- James R. Delisle, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Education (Retired), Kent State University. Co-author of When Gifted Kids Don't Have All the Answers and 19 other books.
“Packed with practical ideas parents and teachers can readily implement to help those struggling with perfectionism, this book is the PERFECT resource to help adults teach and model happy imperfection.”
- Ed Amend, Psy.D., Clinical psychologist and former Board member, Supporting Emotional Needs of Gifted
“Who better to write a book about perfectionism than a recovering perfectionist? Invaluable new insights on perfectionism … a must-read for parents and teachers struggling to understand the young perfectionists in their lives.”
- Lisa Conrad, Owner, Gifted Parenting Support, and Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT on Twitter.
“Lisa Van Gemert is your guide out of Perfectionland! She gives inspiration and a roadmap for a life filled with joy, while still pursuing your personal best. The stories and strategies in these pages can literally transform lives.”
- Dan Peters, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist and co-founder of Summit Center, and author of Make Your Worrier a Warrior: A Guide to Conquering Your Child’s Fears and related books.
“I wish I had known these strategies in raising my own highly capable children. Full of commonsense advice for parents and teachers, and a good helping of humor, the logical strategies will be easy to try at home and at school.”
- Jane Hesslein, M.A., Humanities teacher, Seattle Country Day School and former Board member, Supporting Emotional Needs of Gifted
- Print length243 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateFebruary 22, 2019
- Dimensions6 x 0.55 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101793867674
- ISBN-13978-1793867674
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Product details
- Publisher : Independently published (February 22, 2019)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 243 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1793867674
- ISBN-13 : 978-1793867674
- Item Weight : 11.7 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.55 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #144,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #53 in Popular Adolescent Psychology
- #398 in Popular Psychology Personality Study
- #16,800 in Self-Help (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Lisa Van Gemert is a mild-mannered educator by day, and voracious reader by night. She specializes in the care and educating of gifted youth, and her favorite title is "Ambassador of the Gifted." She shares tips and resources for parents, educators, and even kids at her website giftedguru.com.
She is the author of four books for parents, teachers, and real live gifted people.
A California girl by birth, she now makes her home in Arlington, Texas, where she lives with her Aussie husband, Steven, and their Golden Retriever, Brody. They are frequently visited by their three grown sons and two (precious and longed-for) daughters-in-law.
She's been a teacher, a paralegal, a high school assistant principal, and a full-time mom of her (now grown) three sons, twelve foster children, and two foreign exchange students. In her free time, she loves to read, do genealogy, organize stuff, and volunteer.
Gifted Guru® is a registered trademark of Lisa Van Gemert, LLC.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book informative and practical, with one mentioning how it helped them understand themselves and their students. They appreciate its readability and find it a great read. The book provides good ideas for managing perfectionism and includes suggested action steps.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Select to learn more
Customers find the book informative and practical, with one customer particularly appreciating the application activities.
"...It was overwhelming how much it helped me understand myself and my students!" Read more
"...I appreciate the application activities as well. It is encouraging knowing my family isn't alone on this journey of dealing with perfectionism." Read more
"...This book is informative and provides many things a person can do to overcome perfectionism. This book is engaging and enjoyable to read...." Read more
"...It is both insightful and practical, which you can't say for all nonfiction books...." Read more
Customers find the book easy to read, with one mentioning it's particularly suitable for perfectionists.
"This is such a great book to understand and help perfectionist! It was overwhelming how much it helped me understand myself and my students!" Read more
"Oops! Perfect! Good ideas for managing the perfectionist in ourselves and our students...." Read more
"...This book is engaging and enjoyable to read. Each chapter ends with a summary of key ideas and suggested action steps...." Read more
"...This is such a great book written by an educator who obviously knows she is talking about...." Read more
Customers find the book actionable, with good ideas for managing perfectionism and suggested action steps. One customer notes it provides a great balance of practical how-tos, while another mentions it's a must-read for parents of gifted kids.
"This is such a great book to understand and help perfectionist! It was overwhelming how much it helped me understand myself and my students!" Read more
"This book gives great insight into dealing with perfectionism in an adult or child. I appreciate the application activities as well...." Read more
"...Actionable steps at the end of each chapter provide an easy reference for implementation." Read more
"...Each chapter ends with a summary of key ideas and suggested action steps...." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2024This is such a great book to understand and help perfectionist! It was overwhelming how much it helped me understand myself and my students!
- Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2022This book gives great insight into dealing with perfectionism in an adult or child. I appreciate the application activities as well. It is encouraging knowing my family isn't alone on this journey of dealing with perfectionism.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2020Oops! Perfect! Good ideas for managing the perfectionist in ourselves and our students. Actionable steps at the end of each chapter provide an easy reference for implementation.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2019Finally, a book that does more than explain what perfectionism is and provide conceptual ideas about it. This book is informative and provides many things a person can do to overcome perfectionism. This book is engaging and enjoyable to read. Each chapter ends with a summary of key ideas and suggested action steps. If you or someone you interact with struggles with perfectionism, I highly recommend this book.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2020As an adult, I picked this up on a whim because I struggle with perfectionism (it's geared towards parents of sensitive, gifted children) I LOVED it. This is such a great book written by an educator who obviously knows she is talking about. It is both insightful and practical, which you can't say for all nonfiction books. If you are someone who struggles with perfectionism (no matter your age), I highly recommend you give this book a try.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2019I first learned about Lisa and this book from a webinar on gifted children. I’m so gkad I’ve got the book! It offers oractical tips and suggestions on how to recognize and deal with perfectionism in kids or ourselves.
It really opened my eyes on some of the things we did as parents to unwillingly encourage perfectionism, while offering practical steps to change it. Highly recommend!
- Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2019That is the first line I underlined. Found before I even finished the introduction, it was the first of many tidbits I found in this book that I didn't want to forget. As the parent of gifted children, I find that a lot of popular solutions do not take into account the different way my children's brains work. Not so with Perfectionism. This book is a great balance of practical how-tos and the science behind them that work with a gifted child and not against them.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2024This book was recommended by our district gifted coordinator. We read the 1st chapter together as a family. It was annoying for me as the reader, the author uses the word perfectionism in almost every sentence. My daughter was frustrated with it. As was I. It’s still sitting on the counter. The author has some decent tips but needed to hire a writer.
Top reviews from other countries
-
Amazon カスタマーReviewed in Japan on December 12, 2023
3.0 out of 5 stars 子ども向け
というのは児童書ではもちろんなくて、子どもの完璧主義にどう対処するかという本でそれやったらfor childrenとか書いといてくれよて思いました。あとそれはいくらなんでもこじつけじゃない?というのと特に目新しい情報がなかったので買う意味はほぼないと思います。
- CustomerReviewed in Canada on February 20, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Excellent book! Good read for the entire family.