Review and Giveaway - Singing the Song of Life by Debra Beryle

Singing the Song of Life by Debra Beryle





rating: 4.5/5.0






From the back of the arc:

You’ll be captivated as you read how the author, known affectionately as Dori, bites into the apple of life with deep passion, allowing its juices to run down her chin. Her confidence, her intelligence, and her wisdom will inspire you as much as her intimate relationships will surprise you.

In this dramatic memoir, the author uses popular songs to frame each chapter of her life and each chapter of the book. Every song sets the stage for the author to dance her dreams and shed her tears, all while coping with a terminal thing called life.

Singing the Song of Life is the story of one woman overcoming her obstacles and triumphantly succeeding in both life and in love. Her memoir offers:

• Adventure — a riveting experience with a con man who is living in a fantasy world;
• Sizzling Sex — her husband made her promise to cook in the bedroom rather than the kitchen;
• Friendship — the author’s best friend marries her second ex- husband and the results from their ultimate test of trust are startling!
• And much more, all woven together with touches of humor, Yiddish slang, and, of course, her favorite songs.

My Review:

This is my first memoir. I admit prior to being told about this book I didn't think I wanted to read memoirs. Then Emily Weiss presented me with Singing the Song of Life: One Woman's Symphony by Debra Beryle and I admit I was captivated with the idea behind the book. This author was using different songs as chapter titles to illustrate her life to date. I am a firm believer in a soundtrack of life. I can relate specific songs to specific times in my life and my husband is the same way. A simple line from a song can take you back and it's a wonderful memory or a horrible one, but it's your memory. So I was definitely intrigued and agreed to review the book.

Let me just say now I am so glad I did. I picked this book up yesterday afternoon after being called to pick up my son early from school. I sat on my porch swing with the nice north breeze coming through and the temperature in the 70s. I started the book and I couldn't put it down. Eventually I had to because 8 and 4 year olds don't feed themselves when Daddy works late, but as soon as I could I picked it up again. And I finished it.

It starts with the author as a child and then treks through her life, touching on the times that affected her the most, marriages, divorces, a miscarriage, financial ruin, great highs with her career. We see her as a child, a teenager, a twenty-something, a career woman, a wife, a divorcee, and as a woman coming back from the brink and then finding herself again. We meet her sister, her mother, her father, her best friend and the men along the way. We see all of this through her eyes looking back on her life and through that we see the wisdom she gained in every situation, and her neverending positive attitude. Dori feels real in this book because she is real and that's what really made this book for me. Dori is not a Hollywood starlet, she is an everyday woman, trying to succeed, trying to find love and trying to find peace with herself.

This is an amazing book. I was enthralled. It reads like a novel with never a dull moment, I was always wondering what will happen to Dori next, how she would handle it and hoping for something great for her. It's an inspiring book, because as tough as things got for Ms. Beryle, she never gave up, she kept pulling herself back up. She also does not place blame, which is refreshing. She knows she had some problems and works out where the problems came from but never plays the pitiful me card. She's strong from the word go even when she is searching for her self-confidence. An absolutely inspiring and genuine read, I can't recommend this enough. Even if you don't read memoirs, you should read this one - it applies in some way to all of us. Each one of us has been there and can relate to something in Ms. Beryle's life and hopefully we can take away her strength and become stronger women ourselves. Also you may find yourself singing along, like I did with Ms. Beryle's symphony.

On-sale Date: November 1, 2009


Also I would like to give away my copy which is an arc. I will open the contest today through September 30th. US and Canada residents only please. Please enter by:

1. Commenting on my blog, make sure I have a way to contact you. (+1)
   
2. Become a blog follower or let me know if you are already a follower (+1)
3. Tell me any memoirs you have read and enjoyed (+1)
4. Tweet about this review and giveaway, use @cfulcher in the tweet so I can find it (+1)
5. Follow me on Twitter (or let me know if you are a current follower) (+1)
6. Blog about this contest and let me know the link (sidebar or post is fine) (+1)

So there you go - 6 ways to get an entry into this contest. You can leave them in separate posts or one post, it doesn't matter, I will make sure you get your entries, just make sure to let me know what you do.