Saturday, June 28, 2014

It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over (Non-fiction Book)

Many of us have gotten stuck in our lives. We live in a rut and have a hard time believing, in our hearts, that life could be any different. We desperately need something that can help us believe that life can hold new possibilities for us. It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over—Reinventing Your Life Dreams Anytime, at Any Age, edited by Marlo Thomas, could be just the inspiration that many need to again believe in possibilities.

The book contains sixty stories of women who found a new passion after they had already been established in their lives. Many of the stories involve women who launched a new career or who discovered a new avocation. Some involve women who found a new cause. Most of the stories involve a single passion, but a few involve ever-evolving paths. Most of the stories involve women who now are in their forties through sixties. Some of the women discovered their passions out of necessity, others out of a deep sense of dissatisfaction. The stories range from a woman who makes whisky to a woman who encourages people to be organ donors, from a woman who lived out her dream to be a cowgirl to a woman who runs a store that helps plus-sized women feel great in beachwear. Most of the stories involved happy endings, but in a few cases the women had major challenges before the book went to print. As I have thought about the stories in the book, I noticed that most involve a blend of serendipity and dogged determination. As I read the book, I noticed that a part of me whispered, “If these things were possible for these women, perhaps there are new, interesting possibilities for me.”

This is a book to read to be inspired. This is a book to buy to lend to people who feel stuck in their lives. For more inspiration see the "It Ain't Over Till It's Over" page of Marlo Thomas's website.