Nothing to Fall Back on: The Life and Times of a Perpetual Optimist

Betsy Carter's autobiography is truly interesting and a joy to read. You'll laugh and sometimes you'll cry, but you will never be bored. If you want to know what it's like to live and work the high-paced New York life in a unique and personal way, this book will give you the feeling. Betsy shows us what it was like to grow up in the 50s and 60s, from New York to Miami and then on to being "a journalist in New York." She blithely details the trials and tribulations she's been through without wallowing in them, showing her true optimism and connectedness to life. I fell in love with Betsy's sister, Miriam, and Betsy's amazing mother. Don't miss Betsy's mother's comment upon learning Betsy had been secretly going to Bible school. Even with tough times, Betsy Carter is a truly blessed person. The book is extremely well written and edited, in fact, this may be the best edited book of its type I've ever read. She manages to convey whole chapters of converesation with just a line or two of dialog. I will immediately, if not sooner, pick up the two fiction books Betsy has written since this autobiography. She's just that good a writer Rading this book made me feel like I was reading something written by a good friend. Highly recommended, especially to women.

i thoroughly enjoyed this book, and agree with some reviews i've read that reviewers shouldn't go into too much detail because thats half the enjoyment (if you can enjoy someone else's misfortune), reading her life events as they unfolded. the other half is her humor and as a woman and a working woman i could relate to how she felt in many circumstances. it was rich in history, both her evolving profession and the times she lived rising in her profession, and i enjoyed how she interweaved her growing up years with her adult years, her family, friends and loves. she also drove through Jacksonville on her way to Miami and went to the University of Florida so that was interesting! i hated it to end and i couldn't help wonder what shes doing now. i really hope all her dark times are past her. i think she is a 'real human being.' :) this is a book that made me feel good.

Reading Betsy Carter's book was quite an experience. I kept thinking that even if one of the things she'd lived through had happened to me, there's no way I could have ever kept a sense of humor or a positive attitude about my life as Carter has been able to do. She was undaunted! I find it compelling that this author was able to spill the beans about her life without making me feel that she was bitter or complaining. It was just the opposite. I thought that throughout her trevails, she continued to be an optimist. I loved her writing. I felt as if she were my friend and that she was speaking to me on the telephone. There were also times when I was laughing out loud. I found this book inspiring, funny, very poignant and victorious. Betsy Carter beat the odds -- in all ways. I've just purchased copies for three of my friends.

I totally enjoyed this book. It's one of the best books i've read in a long time. Its amazing how Betsy has all these hardships and she manages to get through them with a smile on her face. I give her so much credit for what she's been through. She's a spectacular writer. You'll love this book!!!!

My book club assigned "Nothing to Fall Back On," and reading it was such a pleasure! Carter's book is simply a wonderful read. She has a sharp, wry and distinctive voice-- she's your wittiest woman friend that you've known forever. The book chronicles some horrible events in her life, and in lesser hands the telling would sound whiny or melodramatic, but Carter has a gift for seeing comedy in the tragic without making light of her experiences. The portrait of the macho journalism world of NYC in the 1980s is also very interesting, and some of the gossipy anecdotes from that period are laugh-out-loud hysterical. A fun book that's smart and genuinely touching-- how often do you see one of those!?