Oprah Winfrey's 'Love Your Life' Book Shows Examples of Overcoming Extreme Obstacles

After reading the 2009 fourth edition volume of O, the Oprah Magazine compilation articles in "Dream Big! O's Guide to Discovering Your Best Life," I was delighted to check out the fifth edition, "Love Your Life." From the title, I expected the book to be a bunch of warm and fuzzy stories of women learning how to enjoy every minute of life and find new ways to appreciate family and friends. However, what I was introduced to was a book of astoundingly strong women who overcame issues that the average person just doesn't deal with in everyday life. While we all have our own issues, the chosen stories not only inspired but they educated and explained issues we may have been wondering about.

Some of the heaviest stories were in the "Make a Connection" section. Eva Lux Braun's "Will You Be My Sister?" gives a first-hand experience about what it was like for her, her sister and a new friend to meet the Third Reich. She talks about how Jewish women were treated during the Holocaust and how her blue eyes and blonde hair hurt and helped her against Germans. This story was hard to read, but I couldn't put it down. For a woman to be terrified about a shower turning on because she didn't know if gas or water was going to come out is nothing a teenager or even an adult should be put through.

Betty Kindley's "The Women in the Water" tells the story of how she went to visit a friend, Judy Davidson, and ended up being forced to leave her after a violent wave and not being able to swim took Judy's life. Dina Kraft's "A Slim Peace" explains how weight trouble brought Israeli and Palestinian women together when they were supposed to be enemies.

In the "Getting Through It" section, Susan Klebold's "I Will Never Know Why" is a detailed story about how her son killed 12 students, 1 teacher and injured 24 others during what we know now as the Columbine shooting. After declining many interviews, Dylan Klebold's mother speaks out about what it was like going from worry to denial to confusion to embarrassment about what her son had done on Tues., Apr. 20, 1999, in Colorado.

Not all the stories are this dark, but they are all deep. Women discuss animal rights; raising autistic children; learning to control weight around family; learning to deal with a mother who is almost a bully about her child's weight; the perception of beauty from friends versus self; how a childhood incident can create nervous energy during adulthood; learning when to say "no" even when it may hurt your career (written by the voice of Princess Tiara, actress Anika Noni Rose); overcoming domestic violence; learning how to live within your means; being proud of being a lesbian (Ellen DeGeneres' feature when she became the second person to be on an O cover); female strength in sports, entertainment and politics from people like Venus Williams, Donna Brazile, General Ann E. Dunwoody, and Lauren Ambrose; an interview with Tina Fey, First Lady Michelle Obama and Jay-Z.

This is the type of book that I could read over and over again depending on my mood to find out what women like myself did to get past the odds or women unlike myself who I just want to learn from. As much as I enjoyed the fourth installment, "Love Your Life!" is hands down my favorite. I'm going to check out the other three books, as well.

This title will be available to the public for sale on Oct. 12, 2010. I rate this book an easy 5 out of 5 stars.