WORKING IT OUT: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
WORKING IT OUT

A JOURNEY OF LOVE, LOSS, AND HOPE

BY ABBY RIKE

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In 2006, Abby Rike lost the life she knew and loved when her husband and two young children were killed in a car accident. Devastated and numb, she shut down. For nearly three years she walked through life like a spectre, present in body only. As she descended, so did her health.
 

Fortunately, Abby was not alone. She had loving parents, supportive friends, and a faith that continued to sustain her. Little by little she found the courage to return to life. Joining The Biggest Loser proved a catalyst for the physical and emotional changes she needed to make. In fact, against all odds Abby gained strength, courage, wisdom, and continued her steadfast relationship with God. Instead of anger, she found herself slowly but steadily healing. She lost a hundred pounds but gained hope.
 

In this riveting book, Abby tells her story--from her joyous life before the accident to the unbearable pain that followed it and her eventual emergence as a woman reinvigorated by her faith in God. Today Abby's resilience and positivity are a testament to the power and importance of faith in the darkest hours.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Abby Rike was a high school drama teacher before the 2006 accident that changed her life. After losing her two children and husband in a tragic accident, Abby journeyed through the trials of grief, and ultimately decided she needed a life change. After a stint on The Biggest Loser, where she lost 100 pounds and gained a new perspective on life, Abby quit her teaching job and now travels around the country speaking full-time to a variety of different groups about her physical and emotional journey.

MY REVIEW/THOUGHTS:
Abby Rike’s WORKING IT OUT is probably best classified as a memoir but it really is much more than that. WORKING IT OUT was not a book I knew really anything about until I sat down to read it.  I didn’t know that Abby had been on the television show “The Greatest Loser” and since I don’t watch, it made sense that I didn’t.  So there I was seeing a hint about that and thinking, “Ah, another weight loss guru book”.

Imagine my surprise when I got into reading Abby’s inspirationally emotional story and couldn’t put it down! Since the story starts out with Abby bravely describing the tragedy that changed her forever, I won’t classify my telling you some of this as a “spoiler”.  In an instant, one horrifying day in 2006, Abby lost her loving husband Rick in a dreadful car accident. As if that weren’t enough, in the car with Rick was the rest of Abby’s heart, her cherished 5-year-old daughter Macy and precious 2-week-old infant son Caleb. Close the book, you say, as surely she couldn’t go on so what more could she write about?

But this is why WORKING IT OUT and Abby Rike are so amazing as she did go on. It took her a while of feeling in limbo but with family and friends to support her, and her faith and belief that she would be with her loved ones again someday, she recovered. She moved on with her life in all aspects including her health that she had allowed to slip during her "recovery" period. In writing this book she hopes to inspire those of us out here who might need a little reality check. 

After this opening, Abby goes back to tell how she arrived at that fateful day starting with the love story of Abby and Rick. Love letters and romance, the love that many wish they could hope to find; this was Abby and Rick.  Abby even shares some of these letters throughout the book that tug at your heartstrings a little more with each one you read. Rick had come into Abby’s life after her previous marriage so Abby could tell the difference for sure and as Rick adopted Macy, from her first marriage, they became a team and Macy was raised as Rick’s child and he loved her with all his heart.

Rick and Abby were both high school teachers and headed up the speech team and were favorites among students and teachers alike. It was easy to see why “Team Rike” were to be admired and loved. And then another blessing came their way with the birth of their first child together, adorable little Caleb.  As Abby is floating through what was the happiest time in her life, she is hit so hard when the accident occurs two weeks later, it is unimaginable to comprehend how she got back up.

However, Abby’s faith in God and belief that there must be a plan for her is what kept her going on. Her courageous behavior and will to move on, is an inspiration to all who have known her. Abby went on to get her Master’s Degree and return to teaching and as if that wasn’t enough, she tries out for the weight loss show on television, “The Biggest Loser”.  Although she technically didn’t “win” the show, she still lost 100 pounds and found she was now able to be in control of her life in as much as anyone can be - or as Abby puts it, she learned "to soar again".  Abby’s perseverance and courage are rare to be sure but nothing we can’t all strive toward.

Anyone, no matter what or if you believe in a higher being, should read this book. While you will feel Abby’s pain over what she has been through, I believe it will help to make you stronger in one way or another. The importance in family and health and having faith at least in oneself should be the most treasured values we have in life.  I think reading Abby Rike‘s WORKING IT OUT will help readers to see what I mean by this for sure! 

GIVEAWAY  

THANKS TO SARAH AND THE GOOD

FOLKS AT HACHETTE BOOK GROUP,

I HAVE TWO COPIES OF THIS BOOK

TO GIVE AWAY TO TWO LUCKY READERS

 
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO 
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THE DESCRIPTION, VIDEO, AND REVIEW OF WORKING IT OUT AND WHY YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ON ABBY RIKE'S WEBSITE BY SEARCHING HER WEBSITE HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY THAT YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN GIVE THEM ALL AS LONG AS THE COMMENTS ARE SEPARATE TO COUNT FOR THE GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, JULY 17

 GOOD LUCK!