or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Take Heart! True Stories of Life, Love, and Laughter
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Take Heart! True Stories of Life, Love, and Laughter [Paperback]

Rudy Wilson Galdonik (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Price: $12.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Only 2 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want it delivered Tuesday, January 31? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Book Description

November 2003
Who would think open-heart surgery at the age of 25 could be funny! Hilariously funny.

Take Heart! True Stories of Life, Love, and Laughter chronicles the challenges faced by Rudy Wilson Galdonik, motivational humorist and heart patient. Whether it’s the challenge of having $40,000 worth of "stuff" in her chest to keep her heart ticking (that's the uninstalled price of 2 mechanical heart valves, a pacemaker, bovine patch, assorted leads and a pacer wire named Emily), being an off-the-wall animal lover or just a Yankee living in the Deep South, Rudy keeps readers in stitches while she encourages them to see the funny.

If you’ve ever caught yourself ogling at your neighbor’s trash, or considered your pet a four-legged child, or tried to pass as genteel and failed miserably, then consider this book. If you select doctors based on sex appeal, dance with the finesse of a spastic robot, or know someone who drives The Ugliest Car in the World, then this book is a definite must-read. Rudy writes like most people think, but are afraid to admit. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. You’ll see yourself over and over on every page of these hilarious and often times poignant stories.


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hailed as the Erma Bombeck for the 21st century, Rudy Wilson Galdonik is a menopausal mom with an attitude. A tad shy of bionic, she is a lifelong heart patient with $40,000 worth of "stuff" in her chest (that’s the uninstalled price of two mechanical heart valves, a pacemaker, assorted leads, wires, and a pacer wire named "Emily").

Rudy’s writing career began in the third grade when, filled with a passion to write, she began her Great American Novel. By page 4 she was bored to tears and her masterpiece was eventually thrown out along with Rudy’s extensive collection of airline throw-up bags by her mother, whose own passion was cleaning.

In 2001, Rudy’s 16-year-old son, Brad, decided to solo-hike the Appalachian Trail. Rudy’s role as the heart-patient mom, was to function as Drop Box Coordinator, keeping Brad supplied while he was on the trail, and write e-mail updates to all the people who wanted to be kept informed of Brad’s hiking progress. Early on, Rudy was fired from her job of Drop Box Coordinator after she repeatedly mailed 30-pound packages of food to her ultra-light hiker son. But her e-mail updates grew in popularity to weekly updates of readers as far away as Australia.

In 2003, Brad set out on the trail again. This time setting the world record for solo-hiking the 2,650 mile Pacific Crest Trail, and Rudy once again entertained readers with her hilarious updates. At the same time she completed work on her new book Take Heart!

In addition to writing, Rudy uses humor to speak to groups. When Rudy is not writing or speaking, she is stealing treasures off her neighbor’s trash.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 197 pages
  • Publisher: Broad Horizons Press (November 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0974185248
  • ISBN-13: 978-0974185248
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,867,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Faith, illness and above all HUMOR in a three way headon collision!, June 6, 2007
This review is from: Take Heart! True Stories of Life, Love, and Laughter (Paperback)
Rudy Galdonik has lived through a lot of painful experiences. But so have a lot of other people. What sets her apart is how she shares them in such a humorous way through her book TAKE HEART. In it she masterfully takes some of life's hardest curve balls and hits them out of the park! Especially hysterical is her story "Three's A Crowd" about her room mates during her second long hospital stay. I was laughing so hard the person sitting next to me on the plane almost called the flight attendant! This is a warm, spiritual, unbelievably funny book that you will not be able to put down. Highly recommended for you or for someone in your life who needs a little laughter.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


5.0 out of 5 stars Feeling Good, May 3, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Take Heart! True Stories of Life, Love, and Laughter (Paperback)
I was amazed to read a book about so many life problems, and end up feeling good at the end! The author certainly knows how to keep life in perspective, and does it with great wit. On a number of occasions I burst out laughing. I would call this a "light read" due to the sense of humor of the author. What a great example of making lemonade out of lemons!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


5.0 out of 5 stars A Five Heart Beat Rating!!!!!, March 2, 2004
By 
George Samuels (Solana Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Take Heart! True Stories of Life, Love, and Laughter (Paperback)
One of those books that is hard to put down once you start reading. Doris Day meets Jerry Seinfeld. Multiple heart surgeries, raising a family, and experiencing widow-hood at an early age would do most of us mere mortals in. Rudy manages to take on all these experiences and give a humorous and soulful insight into dealing with life's challenges. Reading this book you go from profound sympathy to a grin from ear to ear, page after page. I used to think the heart was that thing in your body that pumps the blood around. Rudy has that unique writer's gift that can deftly story-tell the emotional heart that keeps us all going, spinning humor and inspiration from cover to cover
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews




Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
One of my favorite childhood memories involves one of my parents suggesting, "Hey, anybody want to go for a drive?" Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
bum heart, echo test, treadmill test
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Good Housekeeping, Black Lab Nut, Take Heart, True Stories of Life, Little Miss Hoity-Toity, Doris Day, Little Johnny, The Perfect Mother
New!
Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:

Citations (learn more)
This book cites 3 books:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums



So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:






i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...