Walking Home

by Gloria Goldreich

It's easy to see where you're going when you follow your heart

For Manhattan public relations exec Rochelle Weiss, everything in life has come easily--good looks, good grades, professional success--until her life is turned upside down by the news that her beloved parents are dying.

Determined to care for them in their final days, Rochelle loses her job, the support of her lover, Phil, and her lifelong belief that everything will turn out okay. Finding herself alone and nearly broke, she has nowhere to go but into the depths of her own unexplored soul But when she agrees to take over a friend's dog-walking route, Rochelle discovers the abundance of life that lies beyond the trappings of success.

No longer defined by the expectations of others, she struggles to satisfy her own needs, her own yearnings. And yet the closer Rochelle comes to truly understanding what lies in her own heart, the more she realizes that all the pieces of her life must somehow fit together: her parents, her life before their deaths and her search for a new beginning.

Genres: Fiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Gloria Goldreich graduated from Brandeis University and did graduate work in Jewish history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She was a coordinator in the Department of Jewish Education at National Hadassah and served as Public Relations Director of the Baruch College of the City University of New York.
While still an undergraduate at Brandeis, she was a winner of the Seventeen Magazine short story contest where her first nationally published work appeared. Subsequently, her short fiction and critical essays have appeared in Commentary, McCalls, Redbook, Ladies Home Journal, Mademoiselle, Ms., Chatelaine, Hadassah Magazine and numerous other magazines and journals. Her work has been widely anthologized and translated.
She is the author of a series of children's books on women in the professions entitled What Can She Be? She has also written novels for young adults, Ten Traditional Jewish Stories, and she edited a prize-winning anthology A Treasury of Jewish Literature.
Her novel, Leah's Journey won the National Jewish Book Award for fiction in 1979, and her second novel Four Days won the Federation Arts and Letters Award. Her other novels include Promised Land, This Burning Harvest, Leah's Children, West to Eden, Mothers, Years of Dreams and That Year of Our War. Her books have been selections of the Book of the Month Club, the Literary Guild and the Troll Book Club.
She has lectured throughout the United States and in Canada.
Gloria Goldreich is married to an attorney and is the mother of two daughters and a son, and the grandmother of six grandchildren.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It kept my interest for most of the book—interesting characters and story line—but about three quarters of the book in it felt like the author had too many loose ends and didn’t know how to make them work. It finally finished with an epilogue that wrapped things in a neat “happily ever after “ package.

[Debora · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was predictable and slow moving. It was not a book that I was in a hurry to finish.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I seldom find a book just by browsing shelves in the library, but that is I happened to find Goldreich's delightful novel. This story is about finding out who you are and what is important in life. Rochelle Weiss, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, is a people-pleaser. She understands how important it is to be a good daughter. Success in school and later as a public relations executive has come easily. She earns a large salary, has a successful relationship with an equally successful man and a wonderful relationship with her parents. And then they become seriously ill with terminal diseases and Rochelle decides to take a leave from her job but instead is fired. She falls into a career of walking dogs and must reassess what is important in life.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about how Rochelle must reassess what is important in life. Goldreich did not rush this process nor did she cheapen it with easy solutions. I felt as if I had entered a world where it was ok to take your time in order to determine who you are and what you want from life.

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this ok reading. The dog walking was my favorite part, being a dog person, and they added something different to the story. One problem I had was the author kept repeating herself with descriptions of the same events or issues over and over. It got a little old after the third or forth time. I did like how Rochelle changed and found balance in the end tying in bits of her heritage while embracing the future.

[Shea Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read nothing so far this year that has blown me away. About ready to give up. What is with the long winded declarations of drivel, meaningless random thoughts and opinions on every single thing that exists in these people's surroundings? Heaven help me please find a decent book!!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read. This has become one of my fall readings along with A Separate Peace and others.

[Auntie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice story

[Julie Deshaw]

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the writing style and looked forward to reading it.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

another of my favorite authors, well written

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice lite-weight novel. An enjoyable read. I could relate to the dog walking aspect. Use to do that in college.