THE ULTIMATE OTHER

“….There is no failure in this book…only defining my own version of success. At the end of the day that is the only one that matters.”

The Ultimate Other front cover

In The Ultimate Other, I invite you to explore and share my deeply personal and transformative journey of reinvention and identity. Drawing on the wisdom of design thinking, this debut book is a heartfelt guide to navigating the complexities of life after a divorce, as a woman and as a Jew.

I share how embracing the concept of "otherness" became a powerful tool for building a vibrant new approach to my life. The Ultimate Other offers practical strategies and inspiring reflections, helping you to reconnect with your roots while forging a path to a renewed sense of self. This book is more than a guide—it's a companion for people seeking empathy, strength, resilience, and a path to flourishing in every aspect of life.

The Ultimate Other is relatable and empowering. It demonstrates that it's possible to overcome adversity, redefine success on your own terms, and find peace and wholeness in embracing your authentic self. I acknowledge the sacrifices, compromises, and difficult choices we often face, providing a refreshingly honest and vulnerable perspective on the complexities of leadership, identity and belonging and finding strength in our shared challenges.

The Ultimate Other  reveals that it is in our differences, our unique experiences, and our perceived "otherness" that we can find meaning, discover our greatest strengths and forge a path to a more fulfilling and authentic life.

Winner, Literary Titan Gold Book Award

Read Jackie’s interview with Literary Titan.

Jackie King's The Ultimate Other is a deeply personal and thought-provoking exploration of identity, otherness, and self-reinvention. Through a mix of memoir, self-reflection, and design thinking, King dissects her experiences as a woman, a mother, a Jew, and a professional navigating a world that often forces her into the margins. She uses design thinking as a framework to reconstruct her life, breaking it into phases: empathise, define, ideate, prototype, and launch. The result is a raw, honest, and incredibly relatable account of what it means to find and reclaim oneself.

One of the most compelling aspects of this book is King's vulnerability. She doesn't sugarcoat her struggles, whether it's the suffocating burnout of motherhood, the financial insecurity of divorce, or the alienation of being an outsider in various aspects of her life. In one of the most gut-wrenching sections, she describes waiting nine months for her PhD results, only to be dismissed by a male interviewer who tells her she "wasn't the right fit" because she had taken time off to raise her children. The way she captures the slow, grinding erosion of confidence in spaces that fail to value women's experiences is both infuriating and deeply validating.

Another standout theme in The Ultimate Other is the power of reframing failure. King doesn't present a linear success story but instead embraces iteration, failure, and self-discovery as part of the process. She recalls her first experience as a consultant, where she undervalued her own expertise, only to have a client double her rate and push her to see her worth. These moments make the book feel like an encouraging nudge rather than a set of rigid self-help principles. King shows how stepping away from predefined expectations, whether in relationships or careers, is a necessary act of self-preservation.

Perhaps the most emotional part of the book is her discussion of generational trauma, particularly as a Jewish woman. The weight of history, her grandfather's Holocaust survival, the fear that lingers in Jewish identity, and the rise of modern antisemitism shape her sense of self in ways she is still unpacking. She describes visiting Yad Vashem and seeing the name of her grandfather's aunt, who perished in Auschwitz, carved into stone. That moment cements the idea that trauma isn't just something inherited, it's something carried, worn, and eventually understood in personal and political ways.

King's writing is sharp, introspective, and incredibly human, sometimes heartbreakingly so. She doesn't offer easy solutions but instead provides a roadmap for navigating discomfort, embracing change, and designing a life that feels authentic. If you're looking for a book that acknowledges the messiness of personal growth and celebrates the courage to redefine success, The Ultimate Other is a must-read.

Review Literary Titan

Reviews

  • The Ultimate Other is a refreshing, practical, and inspiring guide for anyone looking to rebuild their life with purpose, using design thinking in a way that feels empowering and down-to-earth.

  • An honest, brave and multidimensional self reflection, with thought provoking and practical ideas for any woman who is ready to take a good hard look at herself. 

  • What stood out most was how the author treats life as a creative project, using design thinking to tackle challenges. The exercises and reflections throughout the book encourage readers to think strategically about their choices, making the advice both practical and actionable. While it’s particularly impactful for women recovering from divorce, the book’s lessons on resilience and reinvention apply to anyone facing life changes.

  • Jackie King's new memoir is a refreshing take on self-reflection within the framework of 'design thinking'. It offers a raw and heartfelt look into the life of the author with helpful lessons for the reader in self-understanding and exploration. Highly recommend.

  • A fascinating approach to self examination and reflection to facilitate personal growth, by applying design principles to the product - being You! Practical tools to unpack your strengths, vulnerabilities, conscious and unconscious motivations, in the same way a new product or brand is examined. This process is loaded with practical, honest and compelling examples as the author apples the very principles to her own life over a period of it seems, a few years, in fact up to the current time. The result is an accessible, relatable and in fact beautiful guide book, as we share in the authors struggles and insights -and gain the tools to do the same for ourselves. A book designed for repeat use and reference, as we strive to understand and value ourselves, our place in a challenging world, and make positive contributions in the ways we are best suited.

  • The Ultimate Other is easy to understand, highly practical, grounding and insightful. This book transformed the way I thought about goal setting - showing how empathy and acceptance within a cycle of inquiry and innovation leads to joy creation (and who wouldn’t want that?). The author provides a framework and prompts as tools to facilitate the process.

  • A thought-provoking, honest account of Jackie's relatable experiences as a Jewish woman that would benefit anyone feeling like they have lost their sense of self and purpose in life. The book provides a useful guide using design thinking to help others navigate their way through difficult life experiences and transitions, so they can also emerge as their best self.

  • A raw, honest passage of self-reflection and self-discovery. Jackie's journey is thought provoking with relatable insights into the competing struggles of being a Jewish woman in a complex world, juggling motherhood, marriage breakdown and career challenges. Jackie's application of a model of design thinking highlights how self compassion and acceptance, can lead to personal growth and healing.