Singing Off Key
by Mo Van
Published by Sea Wind Publishing
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Reviewed By Michele E. Davis
An accomplished and self-taught dancer, painter and clothing designer, Mo Van, "With faith, dance, and song as my tools, I had realized if you believe you can do something, you can," has done amazing things with her life.
When cancer struck her down, her philosophy was sound and faith-filled; "I trusted in God, that God had a reason for choosing me for this." Her faith propelled her through her sister's death, raising four children, two divorces and the stability of a third marriage. This philosophy helped her through debilitating cancer and all the toxic treatments that go with it.
Van's memoir starts out when she is a young girl in Holland and her family's passage to America when she was 12 in 1961, and includes all the hurdles for an immigrant in learning a second language, making new friends, and adjusting to a new culture.
Captioned photographs and textual emphasis, including Van's original reproduced artwork, along with letters from her children, make this memoir come to life. She said, "For me, choosing the right time and finding the courage to search for a new life came when circumstances were right." Along her journey she kept her Catholic faith in God and as Gloria Gaynor sang, "I will survive," and Mo Van has!
Armchair Interviews says: Written in a conversational style with gorgeous images Van's message of faith in God and courage in yourself shines brightly through this must-read book.