Here's the Bright Side

Of Failure, Fear, Cancer, Divorce, and Other Bum Raps

By: Betty Rollin

Narrated by: Pam Ward

Here's the Bright Side is a wise, moving, and funny book about what people gain from situations of loss. Using examples from others' experiences as well as her own, Rollin inspires with stories that illustrate how the hardest times can lead to happier, richer, more powerful lives.

Rollin writes of lessons learned and happiness gained: about men, friends, power, and more. She tells us about fair - and foul - weather friends, the usefulness of fear, and the positive outcomes of failure, divorce, and widowhood, as well as her own evolving joy as a cancer survivor. Poignant, timely, and universal, Here's the Bright Side is a unique and inspirational view of how people often find surprising light in darkness.

©2007 Betty Rollin (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Rollin] eschews Pollyanna-ish advice for personal examples and research findings on people who've endured tragedies, weather-related upheavals, and aging issues....Excellent." (Library Journal)
"While there is nothing new about finding a silver lining in a cloud, this thought is only comforting if it comes from a credible source; and here, Rollin's voice is comforting....Rollin is not religious....but she is relentlessly positive." (Publishers Weekly)

Good news..

Here's the bright side: If you've ever dreamed of writing a book, but had absolutely nothing to say, this book will be a huge inspiration for you. The author prattles on and on in a series of unrelated and boring antic dotes, all the while quoting other authors and their books. I agree that it can be uplifting to hear other survivors’ success stories, but this is more like a list of people she has known or heard about who have been fortunate enough to overcome their obstacle and learn from it. They aren't even complete stories.

I have tried repeatedly to listen to this book, but have yet to get more than half way through it. At one point the author relates how she was fired from Vogue magazine, not because she was a bad writer, but because she "didn't know anything". She still doesn't. And her style is annoying.