Official Review: Therefore, Choose Life

[Standor5865]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Therefore, Choose Life" by Suzanne Marks Rosoff.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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In Therefore, Choose Life, Suzanne Marks Rosoff details her life experiences starting from forfeiting a career to get married at nineteen, with her life centered around her home. In the 1960s, that was the norm for women. After over ten years of marriage, her marriage ended. However, the events surrounding the end of her marriage would be the beginning of a journey. For the first time, she got a job working as a secretary for a broadcasting station. Life became harder, as she wasn't earning enough and did not get financial support from her husband. Meanwhile, her son, Paul, was diagnosed with leukemia. In these difficult times, it would have been very easy to fold and even go back to her former life. However, Suzanne Marks Rosoff chose "Life."

This was quite an inspirational read for me and tells the story of a woman who I think a young audience, especially women, can learn from in society today. The author expertly dishes out personal details of her life in a passionate and reflective tone that got me hooked from the beginning of her story. The book explores themes of self-discovery, good friendship, and determination, with conquering one's fear at the center of everything, as we watch the author overcome her fears each time she embarked on a new adventure. I like that she acknowledges these fears and recognizes how difficult it can be to conquer them. Her thought process of looking at her fears from the perspective of what she stands to lose and regret is a lesson that impacted me greatly.

In this story, Suzanne Marks Rosoff bares it all. From her rough divorce process and experiencing rape to having to feed through food stamps and being broken by her son's illness, there are a lot of relatable and touching moments in this book. So, watching her take the bull by the horn in both her career and family was satisfying, and I rooted for her every step of the way.

Also, a lot of her adventures involved traveling to different parts of the world for the first time, even when people around advised against it and created more fear. She did a great job of describing her visits to those places, and my favorite trip had to be her visit to Isreal to connect to her Jewish roots. I was a bit confused with the inclusion of some Jewish terms in the book that I had to look up their meanings, but her passion for that country and its way of life is well highlighted here, and I enjoyed it. Several pictures of her experiences are included at the end of the book and brought life to everything she narrated.

With respect to editing, I found four minor errors while reading, which confirmed that the book was professionally edited. I cannot think of any aspect of this wonderful journey that I dislike. Therefore, the book deserves a maximum rating of four out of four stars. I would highly recommend this piece to readers who enjoy memoirs and stories about self-discovery.

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Therefore, Choose Life
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[Pandora10]

Thanks for the excellent review on this book, "Therefore, Choose Life". From reading this, the author experienced a lot of turmoil and faced many challenges which she faced with courage and resilience. I like some memoirs and as this one appears to be inspirational, I believe I would enjoy reading it.

[Kaitlyn Canedy]

It is amazing to see that this author was able to overcome her challenges, despite everything that she went through. I am very excited to read this one. Thanks for the review!

[Becca Olsson]

This sounds like a truly inspirational story. Life can get so hard and it’s so easy to choose the easier path. I’m very interested to read this after your review. Thank you!