Soraya: A Life of Music, A Legacy of Hope Summary and Reviews

Soraya: A Life of Music, A Legacy of Hope
by Soraya

Soraya: A Life of Music, A Legacy of Hope
List Price: $19.95
Our Price: $0.85
You Save: $19.10 (96%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.50 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Soraya
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-09-28
ISBN: 0470171278
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Wiley

Book Reviews of Soraya: A Life of Music, A Legacy of Hope

Book Review: An amazing memoir!
Summary: 5 Stars

Although I'm a fan of Soraya's music, I never followed the tabloids so I never knew about her breast cancer. Her death on May 10, 2006 surprised and stunned me. When her memoir was published, I bought the book; but it sat on my shelf unread. After nearly three years, I began reading it. I had very much admired Soraya as a singer and songwriter. After reading her memoir, I admire her even more as a person who was a caring daughter, a doting aunt, a loyal friend, a champion for breast cancer awareness, and as a cancer fighter.

After a famous person dies, it usually others who write about them. With this book, it's Soraya telling you about herself. It's like having a private conversation with her in which she reveals intimate details about her life, her dreams, her goals, her family, etc. She writes about the meaning and inspiration for some of her songs. Knowing the songs' background gave them entirely new meanings to me and I now better appreciate them.

While reading Soraya's memoir, I used post-it notes to mark interesting information and passages. There are post-it notes on nearly every other page. Here are a few interesting tidbits of facts about Soraya that I didn't know:

She was a classically trained violinist.

At 12 yrs old, she was a violinist for the New York City Youth Symphony Orchestra.

High school valedictorian

High school council President

High school field hockey team Captain

She was lefty but willed herself to learn to play a right-handed guitar because her parents couldn't afford to buy her another guitar.

Attended Douglass College at Rutgers on a full academic scholarship.

Named woman of the year at Rutgers.

Worked as a flight attendant for United Airlines.

"En Esta Noche" and "On Nights Like This" are about the night her mother died.

"Avalancha" was inspired by Stevie Nicks' "Landslide" when Soraya's world was falling down around her.

She was her nephew's YMCA soccer team coach while batting breast cancer.

Soraya wrote songs for Ricky Martin, Ha-Ash, and others.

What I didn't know and admired about Soraya could go on and on. What really surprised me was her determination to still write songs and perform while battling breast cancer to nearly the end of her life. I kept saying to myself "WOW!"

In our lifetime, we will know a friend or family member who will battle a terminal illness. We ourselves might find ourselves facing a terminal illness. After reading Soraya's memoir, I can now better understand those who face such illness and if I should have to face the same fate, I hope I show the same courage as Soraya.

Biographies & Memoirs Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Biographies & Memoirs Books
The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship ImageThe Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship
by Jeffrey Zaslow
Gotham; Published: 2009-04-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.60
Price in other shops: $26.00
A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity ImageA Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity
by Bill O'Reilly
Broadway; Published: 2008-09-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.90
Price in other shops: $26.00
The Last Lecture ImageThe Last Lecture
by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
Hyperion; Published: 2008-04-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.40
Price in other shops: $21.95
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 ImageLone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
by Marcus Luttrell
Little, Brown and Company; Published: 2009-05-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.56
Price in other shops: $8.99
Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist ImageAlways Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist
by Michael J. Fox
Hyperion; Published: 2009-03-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.00
Price in other shops: $25.99
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time ImageThree Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2007-01-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.50
Price in other shops: $15.00
Much to Your Chagrin: A Memoir of Embarrassment ImageMuch to Your Chagrin: A Memoir of Embarrassment
by Suzanne Guillette
Atria; Published: 2009-03-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.25
Price in other shops: $25.00
Taking Woodstock ImageTaking Woodstock
by Elliot Tiber, Tom Monte
Square One Publishers; Published: 2007-06-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.69
Price in other shops: $24.95
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano ImageThe Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
Coffeetown Press; Published: 2008-10-01; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: $19.95
A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond between Two Friends and a Lion ImageA Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond between Two Friends and a Lion
by Anthony Bourke, John Rendall
Broadway; Published: 2009-03-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.76
Price in other shops: $21.95
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
En Esta Noche ImageSoraya - En Esta Noche
Release date: 1996-02-06; Music CD
Best price: $15.40
MTV Unplugged ImageJulieta Venegas - MTV Unplugged
Release date: 2008-06-17; Music CD
Best price: $7.19
Price in other shops: $16.98
No One Else/Por Ser Quien Soy ImageNo One Else/ Por Ser Quien Soy
Music CD
Best price: $1.85
Wall of Smiles (+ Bonus Tracks) ImageSoraya - Wall of Smiles (+ Bonus Tracks)
Release date: 1996-09-04; Music CD
Best price: $30.92
Price in other shops: $36.49
20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Soraya ImageSoraya - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Soraya
Release date: 2005-09-13; Music CD
Best price: $4.10
Price in other shops: $9.98
On Nights Like This ImageSoraya - On Nights Like This
Release date: 1996-02-06; Music CD
Best price: $30.00
El Otro Lado de Mi ImageSoraya - El Otro Lado de Mi
Release date: 2005-03-01; Music CD
Best price: $4.82
Price in other shops: $14.98
Soraya Gold ImageSoraya - Soraya Gold
Release date: 2006-01-10; Music CD
Best price: $8.89
Price in other shops: $19.98
Soraya ImageSoraya - Soraya
Release date: 2003-05-06; Music CD
Best price: $4.25
Price in other shops: $14.98
Con Las Cuerdas Rotas/ Broken Strings: Una Historia De Perseverancia, Un Legado De Esperanza/ a Story of Perseverance, a Legacy of Hope (Spanish Edition) ImageCon Las Cuerdas Rotas/ Broken Strings: Una Historia De Perseverancia, Un Legado De Esperanza/ a Story of Perseverance, a Legacy of Hope (Spanish Edition)
by Soraya Lamilla
Norma S A Editorial; Published: 2006-10-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.47
Price in other shops: $14.99