Decision or Destiny - a Review

Decision or Destiny, written by Darlene Biese Schultz, is the story of one woman's life. It is the story of her accomplishments, her failures, her loves, her heartaches.

How much do the decisions we make affect our lives? Exactly how do they affect the direction our lives go in? If we take a wrong turn, can we ever find happiness again?

Dianna's granddaughter is moving in with her and her second husband, Michael. She is going to live with them while she finishes her senior year in high school. Noel is very curious about what happened between her grandma and grandpa (Dianna's first husband), so she begins asking her grandma questions. As Dianna answers them, we learn about the joys, frustrations, and heartbreaks she has endured throughout her life. And we learn why she made the decisions she made.

Her first sweetheart is Michael. When she is just fifteen, he asks her to marry him, but she isn't ready to make that kind of commitment yet. Besides, she really wants to move out of the small town she has lived in her entire life. If she stayed with Michael, she would have to stay there. Michael gave her a silver ID bracelet as a symbol of their love. She returns it to him when she ends their relationship, but he insists she keep it. Would her life have turned out any better if she had accepted Michael's proposal instead of breaking it off with him?

During Dianna's seemingly perfect first marriage to Shane, you sympathize with her when you see that their marriage is not as perfect as everyone else thinks it is. She has never forgotten Michael. And she wonders what has happened to him. Did he marry? Was he happy? She strangely finds herself attracted to other men. Is this because she is unhappy? Or could her marriage not be very fulfilling?

Shane is a shoe designer, a very well paid shoe designer who insists on choosing what clothes and shoes she buys and wears. The longest they live in any one place is three years. When their marriage dissolves, I think I figured out the reason it failed before Dianna did. Or maybe she knew and just didn't want to acknowledge it.

Still wondering about Michael, but hesitant to get in touch with him, she continues to look for love with all the wrong men. It is awesome to hear how she tells her granddaughter the events that lead her to be reunited with the love of her life – and all of the events that have transpired since they have been together.

The character-driven story flows smoothly from one scene to the next. This reader was quickly caught up in the story, so much so that I read the entire book in just one afternoon. I found it impossible to put down. Well, I would lay it down for just a minute and try to do some housework, but the story always succeeded in drawing me back.

This book was sent to me free of charge by the author. If you would like your own copy of Decision or Destiny to read and enjoy, there is a link to Amazon below.