I couldn't relate to all -- even most -- of the stories here. If you haven't had the experience, the story is meaningless. Several involve getting tough about relationships.
Two essays were especially powerful: "She saw a monster in her bedroom" is about a woman who realizes she must leave to escape a "monster" husband -- at age seventy-one. Beattie concludes, "It's hard to be a newcomer at anything."
"He had to backtrack" is the story of a young delinquent who turns his life around after a gifted counselor roots out long-buried feelings.
I see each episode as a turning point rather than a choice: each time the protagonist hit bottom, his or her life changed. It's not always about choices: the delinquent doesn't face a crossroads.
I'd probably recommend this book to clients whose lives felt out of control, who wanted role models and examples of taking charge, or who wanted to understand the concept of change.
One negative: Each chapter ends with a small lesson that could be omitted. It's overkill. The book's power comes from the stories and the way Beattie tells them. The lessons themselves are not particularly new or original. Leave them out.
Melody Beattie is wiser than a Trafalmadorian. With Choices, she takes us on a journey, skipping from one moment to the next, in her own life and the lives of many others. And whether the moment is about celebrating a victory, dealing with a child's death, jumping out of an airplane, taking a horseback riding lesson, or simply being indecisive, Melody will convince you that every moment is important, and that every moment holds the potential for choice.
As a psychotherapist and author (Embracing Fear, HarperSanFrancisco 2002) I frequently emphasize to clients and readers that there is an important difference between being "in control," and being "in charge." Melody's new book is a wonderful collection of lessons about how to be in charge even when we seemingly control nothing.
These lessons are not really unstuck in time; they transend time. They are timeless, and well worth reading.