Customer Reviews

The Right Words at the Right Time Volume 2: Your Turn!

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This lovely collection of inspirational essays is an excellent example of its genre. Filled with stories of ordinary people, it proves its one extraodinary theme: the right words said (or heard or read) at the right time -- regardless of the exact words or the person saying them -- can be a pivotal point in a life.

In the first volume of The Right Words at the Right Time, Marlo Thomas gathered 100 stories from well-known folks from a wide variety of fields: movies, science, politics, music, you name it. In the second volume, she collected the stories of the "average joe." And you find in both books that the "right words" were not necessarily profound. Most of the words were simple and sensible. Sometimes they were criticism. Sometimes they were even distinctly un-sensible. But they were the right words at the time.

You will discover that even if what you say is not profound, its effects can be. If you think about it, you'll remember the times that words have made a change in your life. What were they? Who said them? What was the effect? And when did you do the same for another person? All of these questions will come to you as you read. Because the stories reach right into the heart of some of the most meaningful experiences in our lives. We can't help but think and compare. And learn.

It is knowing that words can affect others that leads many of us who become clinical psychologists to that work. Much of the training is about being able to identify the right words and the right time and put them together. But as both volumes clearly show, anyone's words can be the right words at the right time.

The Right Words said at the right time have the ability to change a person's life. The authors of the stories in this book are ordinary citizens. A simple word of thanks from a Burger King employee changed the attitude of a Navy sailor. That simple word of thanks made him proud to serve in the military again. Covering All the Bases is a story that contains the advice that it is important to pay attention to detail in everything we do in life. I liked the cute story of the woman who found love with someone over the Internet. The words that helped her connect with that person was a simple phrase from her childhood. The Chemistry Test is another good story with the message that anything is possible if you try hard enough. The author of this story took a very difficult chemistry test in high school. He learned that he could accomplish any obstacle, because he passed chemistry so many years ago. The story entitled Help is an excellent story submitted by a high school student named Jacqueline Sia. It is about friendship and having compassion for people. Just Getting Started is a beautiful story about a man who taught the people around him to live life to the fullest and never quit on anything. The Boy at Ground Zero is a very sad and touching story about how a man is affected by a little boy who lost his father on September 11th. I loved the story entitled Forty. The message of this story is that age is just a number, and that our accomplishments don't always have to follow a pattern and timetable. Within My Reach is an inspirational story about a man's determination to become a surgeon after losing one of his fingers in a car accident. This book is filled with moving stories and good advice. I enjoyed it very much.

We have always heard that 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. But no one has been able to quantify the value of having 'the right words at the right time'. Well, I guess that it is priceless.
Marlo Thomas was operating at an optimum gear when she put pen and paper to work. The narrations of this book are informative, entertaining, and reinvigorating. Effortlessly, they exposed a series of thoughtful and indispensable acts, which make the difference between men and boys. Words are truly supreme! They venture where no picture ever can: in expressing thoughts, locked-up emotions, uncanny desires, delirium, and so forth.
This book is about coping with various real life events. It is dynamic, exuberant, and realistic. The writing style of the author is commendable. Readers are bound to savor the rich but surprisingly fragile twists, which continue to give life its enduring essence. Another good effort by Marlo!

This is such a fasinating book and i can't get over how Marlo Thomas must of felt when all the stories and right words were flooding in around her.This is a book about the truth.This is a book about life and life itslef, and how we deal to cope woth what it throws at us.These are the real people of America.Right words are Living words, and they bring alive the very meaning of life itslef.This book is possibly the best book i have ever read.I'm even getting a shivver done my spine as I'm writting this now.Thomas has put together some of the best and brightest right words and memories form the public, just like you and me.

Sam Worral rating:5 stars.

There are many adult development and self-help books offering helpful programs and philosophies which can facilitate better understanding of ourselves and others, and enhance our emotional health and personal achievement.

But the value of this collection of dozens of brief essays and stories is in how much the experiences of "ordinary" people, not experts, can teach us about the deep inspiration we can find in simple words.

One of the contributors for example, homemaker Carole O'Hare, grieves the loss of her mother in United Flight 93, killed by terrorists. Carole relates the many ways she valued the life with her mother, and recalls a favorite piece of advice from her, "Life is for the living, Carole. Go do it." Carole says it has helped her not only keep living in spite of grief, but to write a newsletter for Flight 93 families.

As editor Marlo Thomas notes in the Foreword, "the right words can transform us."

Sometimes someone says just the right words at the right time and makes a difference in your life. This is a great book filled with uplifting real life stories. But I have a vested interest here too. My story, "My Perfect Mess" is included in this collection. And because my story was published here, I reconnected - after 48 years - with the teacher who made such a difference in my life.The Right Words at the Right Time Volume 2: Your Turn!

I bought this book to give me inspiration in writing law school application essays, as suggested in The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions. It did help get my creative juices flowing. The only critique I have is that I wish there were more stories about "normal" people - it's easy to write a great essay if something extremely unique and awe-inspiring happened to you. But what about the real, everyday, ubiquitous moments that make up the rest of our lives?

This book is a MUST HAVE follow up to the original title; The Right Words at the Right Time. This time around Marlo Thomas has collected stories from every day people like you and me that are touching and heartfelt. They are meant to both inspire and encourage, and they do just that. I highly recommend this book as well as the original.

Excellent book! It's a good feeling book, and knowing that the proceeds support St. Jude's Hospital makes it even better.

"Volume 2" is a sequel to Marlo Thomas' 2002 New York Times Best Selling "The Right Words at the Right Time." Thomas' best seller featured famous, successful people who wrote about the words that changed their lives.

Thomas in "Volume 2" features 101 people from all walks of life (including a prisoner) who, as in the first book, share their stories about the words that changed their lives. These stories were solicited by Parade Magazine from its readers who championed Thomas' first book.

These books were written to show how the right words can transform as they challenge us at a crossroads, helping us through times of sorrow, and calling us to action.

While there are many inspiring stories, I did not find this book as inspirational as the first. Nevertheless, Thomas does well in prompting each of us to think about those words that came to us at the "right time," and in reminding us that we, too, can play a critical role in another's life - when they need the "Right Words at the Right Time."