Review: Beggars or Angels by Rosemary Tran Lauer with Scott Beller (giveaway)

Beggars or Angels: How a Single Mother Triumphed Over War, Welfare and Cancer to Become a Successful Philanthropist
written by Rosemary Tran Lauer with Scott Beller
published by Oaklight Publishing

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Book Depository, Goodreads

Why did I pick this book: The author asked me to review this book. (I received a copy of this book for review purposes.)

Did I enjoy this book: For a few years after college I lived in a one-bedroom apartment with leaky faucets, mice in the walls, and a roommate who slept on a pull-out couch in the dining room every night.  I had two jobs, a mountain of debt, and a schedule of post-graduate classes piled on top.  I had exactly $20/month “mad money.”  So I guess, really (unless you add in the cheating husband, the war zone, the two small children, the dramatic immigration, and the inability to speak the native tongue), I sort of started off the same way Ms. Lauer did, right?

We’ve all had our share of difficulty, but I’ll tell you what – putting my list next to Ms. Lauer’s makes me feel like a spoiled little rich girl.  She’s lived her life the hard way from the start, yet she always manages to put others first.  She may have needed some extra years to develop her layer of grit, but as someone who instinctively refuses to trust, I’ll admit – I’m a bit jealous of her faith.

I would have liked a bit more realism – perhaps the grainy first copy rather than the retouched glossy version of her life – regardless, Rosemary Tran Lauer has written a wonderful book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Would I recommend it: It’s an interesting read.  Go for it.

About the book – from Goodreads: Imagine waking up tomorrow in a foreign land with no home, no money, no grasp of the language, no formal education, no friends or family for support, and with two kids under age three depending on you. What would you do? Beggars or Angels: How a Single Mother Triumphed Over War, Welfare and Cancer to Become a Successful Philanthropist tells the inspirational story of Rosemary Tran Lauer, a mother who found the will and a way to survive when faced with this overwhelming scenario. Drawing on her strength, bold resourcefulness, and sense of humor, Rosemary was eventually able to give her family a wealth of opportunities they wouldn’t have dared dream about in the war-torn homeland they left behind. A courageous welfare-mother-turned-philanthropist, she was willing to sacrifice everything but her self-respect for the sake of her children’s futures . . . and for the futures of thousands of families around the world. Beggars or Angels is about one woman’s dare to care and her persistent search for a reason “why.” Once she discovered it, Rosemary transformed her years of struggle into an altruistic ambition and purpose-the child care advocacy nonprofit Devotion to Children

 

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