Authors: Rosemary Tran Lauer and Scott Beller

Publisher: Oaklight Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-61392-002-2

                                                        A Triumph of the Human Spirit

This is a  candid no-holds-barred story of the making of a woman who has faced more trials and tribulations than most others, and in spite of them, came into her strength to the point, where her confidence in her own abilities to cope with Life’s vicissitudes could allow her to take on any project she desired and take it to fruition.

This book is an unusual success story. It is the triumph of an entrepreneuring spirit in finding out, amidst dire and prolonged financial adversity, combined with painful relationship conflicts resulting in two divorces, exactly those impulses and circumstances that would prove to be her motivating  forces in Life. Most of us, looking for these factors in our own lives, categorizing them under the terms Life-Purpose and Destiny, look outside ourselves for help-in vain. The author Rosemary Tran Lauer looked within for strength. And as she recognized the issues and impulses that would spur her to action, she wrote this book, assisted ably by her co-author Scott Beller, in order to express herself in a format she had not attempted before. Not only that, but she also makes an effort to help other individuals and families, as a life coach, to find the gold nuggets in their lives in times of an economic meltdown, especially where children were involved.            

That children and their welfare would be a primary motivating force for Rosemary Tran Lauer is understandable. Born in South Vietnam, into a middle class family, she married early and conceived two children, a boy and a girl. By accident, she, along with her children, is catapulted into an American oil tanker carrying refugees to a relief camp in the Philippines. Then onwards, she became the sole provider for her children, Bang and Mai. They were three years and six months respectively.

From the Philippines refugee camp, where she picked up some English, Rosemary and the children made it to the mainland USA. “Even though, there were many things I didn’t have, a husband, a home, a formal education, I had to stay focused on what I did have, two children who relied on me for everything. They needed me to be a rock. My children were the ultimate motivation for me to not just survive, but to succeed.”

Rosemary goes on to relate how, after coming to America, she learns English, works as a waitress and other odd jobs, attempts a stint as a private secretary (unsuccessfully), eventually going into the beauty industry where she stays for twenty odd years, even, for a time, owning her own salon and selling her own products. She also accepts her husband’s children from an earlier marriage as her own, even after they divorced. All this and more about the experiments that Rosemary makes with her life energy, form the subject of this book.

The impression that I get, after reading this book, is of a flowing stream getting stronger and stronger, as Rosemary takes on one challenge after another and comes out on top. This self confidence is also reflected in her physical appearance, going by the photographs provided in the book. Rosemary has said that her choice of clothes usually get people to assume that she belongs to a higher strata of society than she actually does. However, it is not just her attire that makes her stand out in a group of people. Rosemary’s face, especially her eyes reveal an unmistakable radiance, all their own, the light of one that is anchored in the Now, a woman who is confident of her ability to cope with all that Life had to offer.

While the main text of this book does not mention her involvement with real estate and the awards she has received, it is clear that this is a book about a woman who has triumphed over Life, despite severe odds.

A word in praise of the books coauthor Scott Beller, who with a very sensitive and skilled exploration of the course of events, has made the portrayal of Rosemary come alive.

This book is a fast and inspiring read.

Warmly recommended.

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