SUMMARY 

Anne Devereux-Mills, once a powerful New York advertising executive, captures her story of creating authentic female connections in her book, “The Parlay Effect: How Female Connection Can Change the World.”

After experiencing a “trifecta of setbacks”—losing her job, health, and last child (to college)—Devereux-Mills found herself in a new city with no real female friends. Tired of transactional relationships, she was hungry for “four quarters instead of a hundred pennies.” So, she invited complete strangers into her home for food and conversation, and Parlay House was born.

In her words, Anne “set out to replicate [the] magic of growth through difference—and to do it by building a community of women. Ideally, the organization I envisioned would include a wide-ranging group of dynamic women and provide a safe place for us to gather, laugh, relax, talk about important ideas and, for at least a few hours every month, put ourselves first, something women rarely do. I wanted to explore this idea of self-expansion.”

KEY TERMS

• Parlay – to speak; a bet where the stakes are higher when you’re doing it together with others
• Parlay House – an inclusive series of in-person and digital gatherings for women that fosters authentic connections and supportive relationships, especially for women at inflection points and crossroads
• The Parlay Effect – goodness transferred one-to-one then often multiplied exponentially as people observe positive acts and begin to pass them on; an action from one person to another amplified and replicated at an exponential level that generates the hope that small actions can truly be part of a significant cascade of good
• One Small Thing – a single act of kindness
• Cascading – when one small thing triggers multiple empathetic acts

QUOTES FROM DEVEREUX-MILLS

• “When I lost power, I lost connections, and I didn’t want to have relationships that were based on transactions.”
• “Empowered by other women, women don’t just pay it forward; they pay it outward.”
• “I have a personal saying that goes like this: ‘We are stronger when we are connected.’ This is what inspired me to create the community of Parlay House. It taught me that the company of other women helps me to feel grounded, fulfilled and empowered.” 

BUY The Parlay Effect: How Female Connection Can Change the World

RECOMMENDATION

To find how and where women are connecting with other women, check out the Parlay House website.

Connect with us!

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube 
• Website

Special thanks…

• Music Credit
• Sound Editing Credit