Byhannah amiton October 25, 2017
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
This book is nuch too short, which is the only thing I have againt it. Short, pithy chapters, full of wisdom and wit and always with a little twist that moves you deeply and makes you reflect back about your own experiene. Take for example the hilariously funny and so poignant chapter about Becker’s mother. At the age of 87, sufferring from Parkinson’s disease and living in an assisted-living facility, she meets a younger, 84-year-old wrack of a man and they happily get married. Ms Becker dubs him G.I. Joe, because he had served in the Korean War. He makes serious plans to take his bride out of the facility after the wedding and move in with his daughter-in-law. Sadly, that was not to be, becuase G.I. Joe died of a broken heart – “he wanted his manhood and independence back so badly” (p. 35). Or take the “Shoes Again” chapter, which develops from what seems to be a frivolous, girlish preoccupation with footwear into a major lesson in human relationship, in fact leading to the most significant relationship of Ms Becker’s life, with her future second husband. “I am a woman, and therefore, I am defined by my footwear. How do I know? Because once, when I started a new job, a whole year and three months passed before a colleague spoke to me, and the first words she ever said to me were, ‘Oh, what cute shoes!'” Everything they say about the book in rhe reviews is spot on. But it’s much more than enjoyable, it is also a hugely satisfying book. Read it with close attention and you will get a lot of good tips for your own life changes. We do hope to hear more o Jacqueline Becker in the future.