"Love comes from the base of my heart. A great magnetic field five thousand times stronger than the brain comes from the base of my heart. I will decide from my heart with help from my brain, as 'I'm ordering my future.'"
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I Ordered My Future Yesterday by Julie Cox Trafford Publishing
book review by Jenifer Kimble
This sad story details a young woman's journey from her childhood in a very poor home in the Philippines to an adulthood that brings her back to the Philippines but now as a wealthy, yet charitable business owner. She experienced many obstacles along the way, including multiple rapes, years of scrounging through a garbage dump for food, leukemia, other severe illnesses, and perhaps the most heart-breaking decision to give up her six-year-old for adoption. All through these traumas, she kept her faith and her desire to make her life worthwhile—and she has. As an autobiography, it gives personal details that only she could bring to life including her struggles, rewards, and finally the discovery of her earthly soul mate.
This story uses bible verses and tragic events to inspire true hope. The author puts her most personal details in print in an effort to tell the reader that no matter how bad they think they have it, it could be worse. She doesn't sugar coat her struggles, but employs them for positive lessons. Her writing style is kept simple with examples of pop culture, including songs and TV characters—most likely in an attempt to lighten the very heavy subject matter. The author is reflective of her Catholic beliefs on almost every page and never misses an opportunity to inject spiritual insight. It's a good story, with gratefully a happy ending, although it might employ more precise details of her childhood to adult transition. It is a story of miracles, faith, and love that leaves the reader both thankful and reflective.