Necessary Journeys: Letting Ourselves Learn From Life [Hardcover]

Peg Streep (Author), Nancy L. Snyderman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 3, 2000

For years, Nancy Snyderman has been a familiar and trusted presence in the lives of women. Now, in a new book filled with warmth and honesty, she turns her attention to those continuing journeys of self-discovery and fulfillment that are part of every womans life. Filled with her own heartfelt and revealing stories, Necessary Journeys illuminates the joys and challenges of womens everyday lives, and shows us how every experience can be an opportunity for emotional and spiritual growth. At the heart of this book are the real issues women ages 35-60 confront, no matter which path they have chosen.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"I never expected life to be so messy," says Nancy Snyderman, medical news correspondent for Good Morning America, 20/20, and ABC News, in the opening to Necessary Journeys. Here she tells her own story--not a glittery story of a woman's achievements (though she could have written that story instead), but a raw one of "those parts of our lives that have influenced and shaped us without enriching our spirits." We read about Snyderman's rape as a college sophomore by a man wielding a knife at her throat, and how she didn't tell anyone for two years. We read about her depression, weight gain, and fear following that incident. She was also later diagnosed with "a rare form of lymph node cancer, which very few people survive." After 72 hours of tests and expert consultations, she learned that what she actually had was not cancer but a tick-borne virus. Snyderman learned firsthand the panic and isolation of a cancer diagnosis--"the stripping away of self ... the desperate dependence on the intelligence and training of strangers"--and she also experienced a speedy reprieve. The combination of the two made her a better and more compassionate doctor. We also share her experience of marrying a man who spent all her money, led a double life, and put her into devastating debt.

We also hear the happy stories--people who inspired her, her beginnings in television, adopting a baby--but what grip us are the shadow sides of her life. "By telling this story, I make sense of the senseless," writes Snyderman. By juxtaposing her stories with her current understanding, Snyderman passes along worthy advice for others facing similarly overwhelming situations. --Joan Price

From Publishers Weekly

Although this popular medical correspondent on Good Morning America and 20/20 has a full life as a practicing surgeon, mother and wife, she recounts some painful moments and admittedly poor choices on her journey to midlife satisfaction. In a narrative that is positioned as self-help but is actually more of a memoir framed with references to Scott Peck, Parker Palmer, Carol Gilligan and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Snyderman tells of a seemingly idyllic Midwestern family life in Fort Wayne, Ind., where her physician father was a role model for her professional aspirations. She reveals that she was raped in college and believes that the silence and shame attached to the experience lingered with her for years in the form of depression, low self-esteem, social withdrawal and weight issues, until she finally sought help after her first marriage failed. Along the way, however, Snyderman's problems didn't prevent her from attending medical school, getting married and taking a residency in Pittsburgh, where, by accident, she got her start on TV. Later, she established a practice in Little Rock, Ark., socialized with the Clintons, married a man who, she says, ultimately was unfaithful and took her money. Her story harbors many emotional touchstones and triumphs: a cancer scare, a happy romance and successful third marriage in San Francisco, a magical bonding with an adopted daughter, her newborn son's breathing problem and consequent hospitalization. Yet many readers, especially Snyderman's TV audience, may be curious about some issues that are only partly revealed, such as her parents' response to her rape and her relationship to the father of her second child. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1st edition (May 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078686513X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786865130
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,495,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

184 of 188 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What we do for love!, May 1, 2000

By 

Margaret - See all my reviews

This review is from: Necessary Journeys: Letting Ourselves Learn From Life (Hardcover)

Reading this book was like reliving the best and worst moments of my life. I too had a cheating husband. He "dated" other women while we were married and when I filed for divorce I found he was also stealing my money. Nancy triumphed and I hope to follow her example.

I am rebuilding my life and doing something else Nancy recommends--taking control of my finances. After watching GOOD MORNING AMERICA a few months ago I bought a copy of a book called, SIMPLE MONEY SOLUTIONS, by another woman named Nancy I saw on GMA. It has taught me everything my own mother never knew about money.

Both books are blessings and well worth reading.

74 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For love or money, May 24, 2000

By 

dee - See all my reviews

This review is from: Necessary Journeys: Letting Ourselves Learn From Life (Hardcover)

Dr. Snyderman is right on target. Like so many women before us, we often make an unconscious choice of putting love before everything else. How else could you explain our inability to see what our spouses are doing behind our backs (but really in front of our noses)? It took me and Dr. Snyderman years to realize that if we didn't take responsibility for things we could never control our destinies. I too had money issues until I followed "Margaret's" book recommendation.

"SIMPLE MONEY SOLUTIONS: 10 Ways You Can Stop Feeling Overwhelmed By Money and Start Making It Work For You," really did work for me. I didn't even know what I didn't know about money. This book has shown me the way to financial freedom.

Coupled with "NECESSARY JOURNEYS," I feel like I am finally getting a chance to take charge of my destiny and lead the life I was placed on this earth for.

72 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humiliation, Divorce and Money, June 7, 2000

By 

Rory - See all my reviews

This review is from: Necessary Journeys: Letting Ourselves Learn From Life (Hardcover)

I wish this book had been around when I was going through my own devastating divorce. I felt so alone, humiliated and like a failure. The worst part was I was letting down kids and my parents and I didn't know where to turn for help or how to take back control of my life. Soon after my husband left us the creditors started calling. He had charged up a storm and then filed for bankruptcy, leaving me responsible for all of his bills. I've been struggling for years to pay off his debts. A few months ago I started reading the book, SIMPLE MONEY SOLUTIONS: 10 WAYS YOU CAN STOP FEELING OVERWHELMED BY MONEY AND START MAKING IT WORK FOR YOU," that I also saw on GOOD MORNING AMERICA. The author, Nancy Lloyd, has shown me what I should have known about money. Every woman needs to take responsibility for her finances -- and to teach our children how money and credit work before they leave home -- because at some point most of us are without a man around the house. Both books are lifesavers!