ARA Review by joeroe11 of And Then I Met Margaret

[joeroe11]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, And Then I Met Margaret.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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5 out of 5 rating
And Then I Met Margaret, by Rob White, is a delightful read. The author uses the tool of discovering myth versus reality as he tells stories of his life in 21 individual segments. He began searching for the true meaning of life by consulting with many famous gurus but came to realize that many of the most meaningful aspects of life can be learned from ordinary people even a small child named Margaret.

The first series of short stories concern his growing up in a small town. Life was simple and it was expected by all that he would take a job in the local factory and follow in his father's footsteps after he graduated from high school. His rescue of a deer that was stuck on the ice caused him to say his first “no” to his father when it came time for him to go deer hunting with him. This made it easier for him to resist his father when it came time for him to choose between working at the factory and going to college.

He had many lessons to learn in college. When he was caught cheating on a test his stern college professor gave him a chance to redeem himself and eventually allowed him to retake the test. Being from a small town he had to learn how to be accepted by the crowd. While as a college student helping to cater a party at Hyannis and being somewhat of a loner he was approached by Rose Kennedy who opened his eyes to seeing that traits other than wealth and fame are important for success.

After a successful teaching career of 17 years he decided to go into business for himself. His choice was to pursue a career in real estate. He found a book telling how to succeed in real estate and begin purchasing three family houses from funds he had saved from his teaching career. After a couple of years of not making that much money he decided to search for a mentor to take it to the next level. He eventually was able to find such a person who gave him an office where he could learn the entire real estate business.

He learned a valuable lesson from a con artist who relieved him of $50,000. He met his wife and moved to California to be near her. As he was developing his real estate empire there it was his bad luck to purchase land on San Andreas Road. After he had spent several million dollars developing the site he learned the significance of the name of the street as he was hit by a major earthquake. His losses were so severe that he considered giving up then he remembered how others had bounced back and determined to do the same.

The book is about learning how to survive and overcome all of the obstacles that life throws before you. Each of the stories that the author tells is interesting and is chosen to reveal a life lesson. The short stories are very effective in presenting his inspirational message.

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