A Risk Worth Taking
Written by Robin Pilcher
Narrated by Gerard Doyle
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
The New York Times bestselling author of Starting Over and An Ocean Apart returns with his strongest work to date—a heartwarming story of love, compassion, and redemption
After the dot-com bubble burst, Dan Porter is laid off from his job and must decide what is truly important. His wife of 20 years, Jackie, a beautiful and successful managing director for a clothing designer, no longer connects with him. His teenagers Josh, Nina and Millie are distant and confusing. Jackie is tempted by the attentions of a younger man at her office, and thanks to an opportunity suggested by a magazine article, Dan finds himself contemplating a drastic change in his life.A Risk Worth Taking is an engrossing, thought-provoking novel of a man who has to discover what he really values in his work, marriage, and life. Robin Pilcher writes fluidly, and is endlessly interested in the details of his characters' lives. He has written a poignant and moving story about the real choices adults face when they start taking stock of their lives.
Robin Pilcher
Robin Pilcher is the son of bestselling novelist Rosamunde Pilcher. His first three novels, An Ocean Apart, Starting Over, and A Risk Worth Taking were New York Times bestsellers. He lives in Dundee, Scotland.
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Reviews for A Risk Worth Taking
78 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I didn’t put it down until I finished it! I love this book. It was totally captivating.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dan Porter lives in suburban London with his wife and three children. As a two-income family, Dan and his wife Rebecca were basically living in the dream world they expected to create for themselves. But Dan lost his job months ago and now the initial welcome felt by a wife and children in having a stay-at-home husband and father while he looked for work has worn off. As Dan begins to sort through his own feelings of guilt in not finding employment he also begins to question what type of work he really wants to pursue. Rebecca’s feelings change as her resentment builds as the responsibility of being the sole breadwinner begins to overpower any other emotions. As the children have changes in their lives, Dan's encouragement to them is over-shadowed by the change they see in his confidence and they begin to see his part in their lives as intrusion.This story is not an action-packed, suspenseful thriller. But it is a page-turning novel as an intimate portrayal of the changes in a family as the dynamics of a two-income family that has always had a level of financial security changes to multiple unknowns. The initial setting of London could be any major city around the world. However, as the job opportunity for Dan changes there could only be one location that could be so lovingly portrayed and so unique to the outcome of the story as in the corner of the world in Scotland portrayed by Robin Pilcher.It is a story about a family "in crisis" that is thoughtfully written with care to express all of the human emotions of family dynamics (i.e. husband/wife, wife/husband, parent/child, mother/children, father/children, husband/son, husband/mother, wife/mother-in-law). The story also portrays how easily a man and a woman in the same relationship and having the same daily experiences can and sometimes do view things so very differently. It is a story of parental love, the nurturing love between parent and child and from child to parent. It is also a story of resilience and the daily choices that each individual faces on their life journey.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dan had a perfect life with his wife and family and a high-powered job in the city when he is made redundant and for the first time in his life doesn't know what to do. His wife is too busy with her job which includes foreign travel to notice how hard it is for him. His mother gives him a magazine for the recipe and he reads and article which will change everything.
I enjoyed this book which is a quick light read and the scenes in Scotland are written well giving you the feeling that you are really there. I also loved the character of Battersea Gran.
The ending however was very abrupt and it really needs a sequel. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dan Porter lives in suburban London with his wife and three children. As a two-income family, Dan and his wife Rebecca were basically living in the dream world they expected to create for themselves. But Dan lost his job months ago and now the initial welcome felt by a wife and children in having a stay-at-home husband and father while he looked for work has worn off. As Dan begins to sort through his own feelings of guilt in not finding employment he also begins to question what type of work he really wants to pursue. Rebecca’s feelings change as her resentment builds as the responsibility of being the sole breadwinner begins to overpower any other emotions. As the children have changes in their lives, Dan's encouragement to them is over-shadowed by the change they see in his confidence and they begin to see his part in their lives as intrusion.This story is not an action-packed, suspenseful thriller. But it is a page-turning novel as an intimate portrayal of the changes in a family as the dynamics of a two-income family that has always had a level of financial security changes to multiple unknowns. The initial setting of London could be any major city around the world. However, as the job opportunity for Dan changes there could only be one location that could be so lovingly portrayed and so unique to the outcome of the story as in the corner of the world in Scotland portrayed by Robin Pilcher.It is a story about a family "in crisis" that is thoughtfully written with care to express all of the human emotions of family dynamics (i.e. husband/wife, wife/husband, parent/child, mother/children, father/children, husband/son, husband/mother, wife/mother-in-law). The story also portrays how easily a man and a woman in the same relationship and having the same daily experiences can and sometimes do view things so very differently. It is a story of parental love, the nurturing love between parent and child and from child to parent. It is also a story of resilience and the daily choices that each individual faces on their life journey.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The story of a man looking to find more than he had. Dan lost his money and his job as a broker in the dot.com collapse. With his wife becoming increasingly impatient and remote, his daughters miserable at being removed from their school, and his son interested in who-knows-what, well, it's time to rethink.Dan's solution is to remove himself from London and check out a company in Scotland. The result is a new life for himself and his son, renewed appreciation from his daughters, and friendships.A nice book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I picked this up for 99p a few years ago and just got round to reading it. I was pleasantly suprised to find it was very readable, although quite unlike my normal choices. It focuses on relationships, family and the difficult decisions and choices we make, good or bad. The central character Dan is as likeable as his wife is unpleasant and the Scottish characters, particularly Patrick, are ajoy to read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dan Porter's life is coming apart. He has lost his powerful job, his wife is getting caught up in her own career, and his children seem to have lost respect for him. Upon reading an article in a magazine regarding the sale of a small clothing manufacturing company, Dan heads up to Scotland and meets Katie and Patrick Trenchard. Patrick persuades Dan to help him temporarily in his prawn packing business. And Dan life starts to turn around in a new direction. The author, Robin Pilcher, is the eldest son of author Rosamunde Pilcher and writes similar books about people taking control of their lives. A heartwarming book.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The main character in this novel is Dan Porter, a middle-aged Londoner working for an American based investment company. He loses his job during the dot.com bust and then watches as many of his American co-workers die in the 9/11 attack. Forced to look at his career, marriage and life direction, he makes some decisions for change. As the story unfolds and his life takes unforeseen directions, he has to look at how his decisions affect his wife and children and decide if his decisions are really for the benefit of his family or just self-indulgent. A few pages into the book I thought it might develop into a totally cliched novel best suited to a Lifetime TV channel movie. But I was pleased to see it develop into an interesting character study. I enjoyed it very much. This is the first book I have read by Robin Pilcher who is the son of novelist Rosamund Pilcher.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Read on the plane coming home from New Orleans. Typical plane book, would not recommend.