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Book Review…A tale of highs and lows
Book: GIVING UP Was Too Easy
Author: Lorretta Henry Grant
Critic: Dr Glenville Ashby
“GIVING UP Was Too Easy” is an interesting story, a rapid fire chronicle that leaves us craving for more. Truly, there is a feeling of insatiability when the last page is turned. Lorretta Grant rifles through stages of her life
The book cover of Giving up was too easy.
that are better served with some deliberation and detail. Her arduous, regimented and penurious upbringing in the boonies lays a potentially solid foundation, a foundation to construct a far-reaching and noteworthy autobiography; but she has other intentions. She is intent on fast forwarding her life story. It’s a decision we bemoan.
There is so much we could have gleaned from her family life, her relations with her siblings, friends, parents, her intimate thoughts and sensibilities. Where are her buried memories, her secrets? We get a glimpse, but a mere one at that. In truth, her recollections lack intimacy; they are sparse, uneventful and tangential. There is more; we well know. If only we could pry open her sealed chambers.
Throughout, faith and virtue are underscored. Bright, ambitious and academically sound, Grant recalls her rise from the ashes of poverty to land an impressive corporate job.
“…with head held high, chest jutted forward, I slowly entered the brightly lit conference room. Well dressed in a perfectly fitted, one-of-a-kind suit, hair short, and in well coiffure style, medium lips enhanced with the new raved red lipstick, I made my debut at Life of Jamaica Insurance Company…I commanded attention without uttering a word.”
Her flair, poise and confidence earned her the name, Princess. But age and reason do temper the boastfulness of youth. And the Christian faithful will be buoyed when God reemerges as her focal point, her anchor and compass against life’s grueling challenges. In the closing stages of her recollection she offers counsel as she grows “deeper in the Lord.”
She advises, “Pray the blood of Jesus on everything you do, from fun to study; remember that with God all things are possible; put some forgiveness in the mix; accept your labels for who you are; prepare to accept and move with change; [and] when we are able to let go and let God take over, we can survive any situation.”
Grant’s proves her salt as an educator and lecturer. She ventures into the insurance industry and excels. We are impressed. Assiduous, focused and determined she is. We accompany her on many exciting travels. And these are too fulfilling. Tagging along we share her exuberance.
“GIVING UP Was Too Easy” suddenly takes on new meaning. We are given a travelogue, if only for a time. From her travels we gather lessons and milestones in history, and her sojourn in the Holy Land will no doubt strengthen those who waver in faith.
Remarkably, Grant lends cursory attention to an excruciating chapter in her life. She is cast away, spurned by her first husband in an ephemeral relationship. Her account brims with painful. “Words will never be available to express the feeling I suffered,” she reminisces.
And there are also hurdles in her second marriage.
“The challenge began from the night of the honeymoon. Naïve me did not understand the effect of diabetes on one; disappointment all the way was my experience,” she writes. “Well, I don’t have the apt words to describe the sixteen and a half years of marriage up to this point. The experiences have been dramatic, out of the normal, extraordinary, challenging, painful, difficult, unusual, disappointing, unbelievable, captivating, bewildering, agonizing, distressful and lamentable.”
Her battle with breast cancer coupled with the Job-like suffering of her diabetic husband who later succumbs to Alzheimer’s disease, prove her mettle. Her subsequent tales of being touched by man’s inhumanity leave us troubled.
But every experience, every curve ball hurled by life is instructive.
Life’s unpredictability is inescapable. Still we must be resilient and purposeful, mindful that in many ways we shape our reality. Grant reminds us to smile, to expect the best from life and brace for misfortunes. Moreover she has demonstrated that “success is not a matter of luck or genius [but the result of] adequate preparation and indomitable determination.”
Yes, hers is a captivating story.
Feedback: [email protected] or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby
ISBN: 978-1-4907-6204-3
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
Available at Amazon
Ratings: Recommended
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