Walking Home

by Gloria Goldreich

Book Overview

Rochelle Weiss's life is turned upside down when she learns both of her parents are dying of cancer. In an effort to care for them, she loses everything else, but discovers how to follow her heart. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0778321096
• ISBN13: 9780778321095
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Mira Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Amazing and Vivid

Gloria Goldreich captures the shock of a sudden job change and the dignity of stepping down from a well-paid job in order to do the right thing and help her parents, while suffering the indignities of other people's responses. Eloquent and wonderful to read. I've framed the cover as reminder of how long a life transition can take, and that it's noble to make short-term sacrifices and keep your humor.

One of Ms. Goldreich's Best Books!

Years ago while browsing at the library I came across the book Leah's Joruney by the author Glora Goldreich. The story of a young Jewish woman at the turn of the century who emigrates to American,this book remains one of my all time top reads. It also began my fond appreciation for Ms. Goldreich's additional books like Four Days, Mothers and the sequel to Leah's Journey, Leah's Children. Recently while shopping at a bookstore, I came across Walking Home and was excited at the prospect of reading another book by this gifted author. And once again I was captivated by not only the plot of the book, but the wonderfully portrayed characters. Rochelle Weiss is the beloved daughter of Holocaust survivors. She was always first in her class and now is a highly respected member of a public relations firm. She also has a long standing relationship with an equally succesful man. But Rochelle (Ruchele to her parents) is haunted by her parent's past and their unbounding love for her. When her parents are both diagnosed with terminal illnesses, Rochelle decides against hiring help to take cae of them, making the decision instead to care for them herself. But she never planned on her firm not granting her a leave of absence and is somewhat shocked when she is terminated. A few months later her parents dies within hours of each other leaving her an orphan at 32. When she returns to Manhattan she has no job and even her relationship with her boyfriend has deteriorated. Now Rochelle is faced with decisions about what she will do next. Then a friend asks if Rochelle will help her out with her dog walking business while she is away. Between this job and a new found interest in a poetry class, Rochelle is finally able to make some sense of her parents devotion to her and her future. I have always enjoyed Glora Goldreich's books in the past and Walking Home is no exception. While it has been some time since I read this author I finished the book and thought this was a fine read and one which I highly recommend. Now I look forward to reading Ms. Goldreich's latest book, Dinner with Anna Karenina.

Superficialities Are Just that

I am not an animal lover, and when I read on the book's jacket that the heroine was a dog walker, I was almost tempted not to read it. But having read other of the author's books and heard her speak, I felt it was a good idea to at least give it a try, and am I glad I did! The story was mesmerizing, the characters believable, and likeable, and the ideas behind the story life affirming.

Walking Home Is The Way To Go

Gloria Goldreich has painted a captivating world of victims and survivors, of struggles and battles won, of mind-bending questions and simple answers, of love lost and love gained. Walking Home is a book that will make you look inward, will make you examine what paths you've chosen to take in your lifetime -- Are they yours exclusively? Were they mapped out for you? Are you lost? Are you nearly at your desired destination? I have found it difficult to put down the book as many of its characters are very familiar to me and others I know. No doubt I will seek out Gloria Goldreich's other works to read.

Deep poignant character study

Rochelle Weiss would do anything for her beloved parents, Holocaust survivors, who had her late in life and gave her unconditional love. Her boss Brad fires her from her public relations job at Business Industry Systems and her boyfriend Phil dumps her when she asks for a leave of absence to take care of her dying parents. Stunned, she loses her optimistic outlook fostered by her parents that everything will work out okay. Rochelle earns money walking canines; shockingly she finds the work calming her ravaged soul, and enables her to think about the future and all the good things that have happened to her thanks to the love and nurture of her parents. Though she will mourn her loss, Rochelle knows her life will continue to be great regardless of what she does because of her memories of her parents and some new real friends she has met while WALKING HOME. Gloria Goldreich provides her audience with a deep poignant character study of an individual who seems in some ways as a modern Job as everything goes wrong from the moment her mother calls her with the news. The story line is driven totally by Rochelle as she reflects on her past love and glory, her present woes, and ultimately on a future that she knows will once again be filled with love and glory. Fans will appreciate her roller coaster ride from rosy colored optimist to gloomy pessimist back to pragmatic optimist as she overcomes the failures of her boss and her boyfriend and eventually the deaths of her parents in this powerful look at a terrific person making it in a world turned upside down on her. Harriet Klausner