Review by Booklist Review
Popular television personality Kotb (Today) teams up with Lorenzini again (Ten Years Later: Six People Who Faced Adversity and Transformed Their Lives, 2013) to profile men and women who, by dint of passion and good luck, discovered their true callings in life. The seven inspirational subjects include such famous people as Margaret Cho, Laila Ali, Roma Downey, and Mark Burnett as well as a young girl with seemingly no prospects who graduated from Harvard Medical School, a successful investment banker who became a pastor, a man who once disliked young people but ended up not only adopting children but also founding Both Ends Burning in Haiti, and a woman who changed her life by creating cohousing communities. Kotb and Lorenzini best summarize the common elements of these individual journeys thus: Should. Would. Could. Did. Readers will appreciate the highly readable, enjoyable, and inspiring true stories along with the book's uplifting message overall.--Mosley, Shelley Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
People often hear that life is a journey, and coanchor of the Today show and Dateline NBC correspondent Kotb explores the challenging experiences of people who found their true purpose. Stories include those who answered a second life-calling in retirement; a woman who, raised on a hog farm in Iowa, fulfilled her dream of going to medical school at Harvard University; and a woman who, diagnosed with breast cancer, was able to not only beat the disease but marry and begin a sustainability housing project. -VERDICT No matter what path readers take, they can gain inspiration here for a life that completes their dreams and uses their abilities. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The Today show fourth hour co-anchor and Dateline NBC correspondent offers encouragement to those who are unfulfilled with their lives to break through the "gray clouds of frustration and worry" and "create a life that's both fun and rewarding." In her third book, Kotb (Ten Years Later: Six People Who Faced Adversity and Transformed Their Lives, 2014, etc.) recounts her interviews with men and women who honored their life's callings despite formidable obstacles. She shuns an overly flattering tone and relates her stories in a plain, straightforward style (unfortunately, several passages read like dry Wikipedia entries). The author comprehensively details her subjects' life events and accomplishments. After an introduction (each story "will identify the guideposts that led to a place of peace and fulfillment"), the author begins with a deeply moving account of a girl's triumph over poverty and a fractured family life to her acceptance to Harvard Medical School, a journey that showcased her superhuman resilience and resourcefulness. Another, about a socialite couple who sponsored a nonprofit foundation in Haiti to place orphans with adoptive parents, is Kotb's best example of two dissatisfied people who conquered great trepidation and found their passion by surprise. Some chapters start stronge.g., the heiress-turned-sustainable living advocate, and the Wall Street one-percenter-turned-ministerbut then get bogged down by their length. By contrast, the celebrity profilesincluding Touched by an Angel star Roma Downey and boxer Laila Aliare far too brief and inconsequential. Oddly, Kotb's profile of comedian and activist Margaret Cho doesn't feature any of her jokes or trademark candor. This brief, gift-style book contains some gems, but others are seemingly thrown together and make readers impatient for the payoff. Occasionally inspiring but fatally uneven. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
