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Running to Stay Upright
Liz Burgess wakes up one morning to realize she is about to lose everything--and it's all her fault. Her husband's love and trust; her daughter's innocence; her family's cherished home; and her own sense of safety and control are spinning with alarming speed beyond her reach. Her struggle to heal long-buried fears and rebuild her family's shattered dreams takes her on a journey of hope and discovery that will touch anyone who has experienced loss and climbed back to a new understanding of what is important in life.
272 pages, Paperback
First published May 23, 2014
331 people want to read
About the author
Sharon Wright
2 books2 followersWhether I’m writing fiction, nonfiction, blog, or an article, my intention is to inspire hope and possibility. My work as a life coach informs my writing in the depth it brings the subject, the characters and the situations they encounter.
After getting a psychology degree at Bates College, I moved to NYC to manage a dance company and ended up with a career on Wall Street. When I left to raise kids, I wrote “Getting Started in Bonds” to inform investors in an entertaining, easy-to-understand way and to keep my sanity. Ha! The book lead to appearances on TV, radio and in the press.
My career in the corporate world and the experience of my husband being out of work for almost two years led to the idea for the novel, “Running to Stay Upright.” Having only written about bond investing, it was fascinating to see what the characters got up to and the situations that evolved, as the novel became deeper and more textured over the 13 years it took to write it.
During that time:
I raised my two boys with my husband in a town north of Boston where the dump sticker gets you beach parking and you can have horses in a subdivision (which we do)
I developed my life/executive/business coaching work (often assisted by the horses)
I was blessed with much love and powerful medicine to rid my body of breast cancer.
If my experience were to be summed up by platitudes, they could be:
Seek the Joy
Be Curious & Never Congeal
Just Be and the Doing will be Effortless
Live Each Day to the Fullest
Never Give Up
Friend, may your Day be filled with Delight & Kindness.
After getting a psychology degree at Bates College, I moved to NYC to manage a dance company and ended up with a career on Wall Street. When I left to raise kids, I wrote “Getting Started in Bonds” to inform investors in an entertaining, easy-to-understand way and to keep my sanity. Ha! The book lead to appearances on TV, radio and in the press.
My career in the corporate world and the experience of my husband being out of work for almost two years led to the idea for the novel, “Running to Stay Upright.” Having only written about bond investing, it was fascinating to see what the characters got up to and the situations that evolved, as the novel became deeper and more textured over the 13 years it took to write it.
During that time:
I raised my two boys with my husband in a town north of Boston where the dump sticker gets you beach parking and you can have horses in a subdivision (which we do)
I developed my life/executive/business coaching work (often assisted by the horses)
I was blessed with much love and powerful medicine to rid my body of breast cancer.
If my experience were to be summed up by platitudes, they could be:
Seek the Joy
Be Curious & Never Congeal
Just Be and the Doing will be Effortless
Live Each Day to the Fullest
Never Give Up
Friend, may your Day be filled with Delight & Kindness.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 13, 2015
No one is immune to tough times, including Liz and Dan Burgess. A downturn in the economy affected Dan’s home business. Liz worked in the business with him, but with no money coming in she is forced to seek employment outside the home to keep them from losing their house. It is unthinkable. Their house, designed by Dan, is the only home their children have ever known.
Leaving her family to go back to the corporate world is truly difficult for Liz. She worries that things will not get done in her absence, that Dan is having an affair, and that she will turn back into the person she used to be, the corporate go-getter who did had neither patience nor understanding of women who had families.
Liz has a wonderful circle of friends who are very loyal to one another and ready to help each other with the any problems. When it becomes evident that one of their friends is in an abusive marriage, Liz suggests they work to raise money to support a shelter. Though they each have their own issues to worry about, they are a formidable force when they work hand-in-hand.
Sharon Wright’s novel RUNNING TO STAY UPRIGHT is about real-life circumstances, but is ultimately positive in tone. It is definitely not a depressing story, but rather one of hope, of courage in tough times, of love, and of the bonds of friendship.
A lot happens to the Burgess family, but to give too much information would mean including spoilers. The characters are numerous, but I had no trouble keeping them straight. The author does a fantastic job describing them in a way that makes them each memorable. This is quite a task when there are so many who add to the story. The plot progressed quickly and kept my interest from page one through the end of the book.
I have to mention the cover. When I first saw the cover, I could not get over the fact that it did not look like the cover for a book I would read. I just didn’t get it. While reading the book, a lightbulb lit up, and it made perfect sense. This is an excellent lesson in not judging a book by its cover before you’ve read it.
I give RUNNING TO STAY UPRIGHT five stars because a book with a plot and characters that pulled me in so completely and didn’t let go of me until days after I finished it, can only be a five star book.
Leaving her family to go back to the corporate world is truly difficult for Liz. She worries that things will not get done in her absence, that Dan is having an affair, and that she will turn back into the person she used to be, the corporate go-getter who did had neither patience nor understanding of women who had families.
Liz has a wonderful circle of friends who are very loyal to one another and ready to help each other with the any problems. When it becomes evident that one of their friends is in an abusive marriage, Liz suggests they work to raise money to support a shelter. Though they each have their own issues to worry about, they are a formidable force when they work hand-in-hand.
Sharon Wright’s novel RUNNING TO STAY UPRIGHT is about real-life circumstances, but is ultimately positive in tone. It is definitely not a depressing story, but rather one of hope, of courage in tough times, of love, and of the bonds of friendship.
A lot happens to the Burgess family, but to give too much information would mean including spoilers. The characters are numerous, but I had no trouble keeping them straight. The author does a fantastic job describing them in a way that makes them each memorable. This is quite a task when there are so many who add to the story. The plot progressed quickly and kept my interest from page one through the end of the book.
I have to mention the cover. When I first saw the cover, I could not get over the fact that it did not look like the cover for a book I would read. I just didn’t get it. While reading the book, a lightbulb lit up, and it made perfect sense. This is an excellent lesson in not judging a book by its cover before you’ve read it.
I give RUNNING TO STAY UPRIGHT five stars because a book with a plot and characters that pulled me in so completely and didn’t let go of me until days after I finished it, can only be a five star book.
July 2, 2014
This book is a home run! It's a page turner,but you better slow down because there's a lot to take in. Thanks sharon!
August 11, 2014
I won this book from a contest on Goodreads.
Liz and Dan Burgess are the proud parents of their three children, Charles, Francine and Duncan and they live in a beautiful home which Dan gad custom-designed. Liz adored their home and felt comfort, love and joy in it more than nay other home she had lived in before, even her childhood home. Liz had left her high paying corporate job when she had their second child and had helped Dan with his business 'Evergreen Designs'. But as Liz began going over all their unpaid and overdue bills, she realized her frivolous spending and bad decisions with their investments over time could cost them the very home she dearly loved. As she began trying to get back into the workforce, she realized this was not going to be as easy as she thought. When she broached Dan on the subject they sat the children down and advised them of the very difficult, but necessary changes each and everyone of them had to make. As time progressed and Liz still had no job prospects on the horizon, it began to affect not only her children, but her marriage with Dan as well. How will they every get through this horrible chain of events and will their marriage survive this blow.
I really enjoyed Sharon Wright's novel and will look for more of her work. Great read!
Liz and Dan Burgess are the proud parents of their three children, Charles, Francine and Duncan and they live in a beautiful home which Dan gad custom-designed. Liz adored their home and felt comfort, love and joy in it more than nay other home she had lived in before, even her childhood home. Liz had left her high paying corporate job when she had their second child and had helped Dan with his business 'Evergreen Designs'. But as Liz began going over all their unpaid and overdue bills, she realized her frivolous spending and bad decisions with their investments over time could cost them the very home she dearly loved. As she began trying to get back into the workforce, she realized this was not going to be as easy as she thought. When she broached Dan on the subject they sat the children down and advised them of the very difficult, but necessary changes each and everyone of them had to make. As time progressed and Liz still had no job prospects on the horizon, it began to affect not only her children, but her marriage with Dan as well. How will they every get through this horrible chain of events and will their marriage survive this blow.
I really enjoyed Sharon Wright's novel and will look for more of her work. Great read!
November 26, 2014
I received this book as part of Goodread First Reads Giveaway.
I wanted to like this book but it wasn't for me. The writing is good but it was like watching the news. Another person living beyond their means, poor me.
I wanted to like this book but it wasn't for me. The writing is good but it was like watching the news. Another person living beyond their means, poor me.
July 24, 2014
Last night I finished Running to Stay Upright a novel by Sharon Saltzgiver Wright. One of those can't put it down novels. I loved the characters and the beautiful story line. Thank you Sharon for writing it.
August 11, 2014
brilliant book, & the story itself was fab!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews