Getting It Right, the gripping sequel to Working It Out, follows the fortunes of Rifki Nesher through the next stages of her life, marriage and motherhood. As before, one of the dominant features of her life is the struggle to reconcile her medical ambitions with her genuine desire to fulfill her traditional and instinctive role as a Jewish woman. But it is not easy. After landing a job in a hospital pathology lab, Rifki comes to the realization that her heart is really in the exciting and vibrant field of obstetrics. In typical fashion, Rifki manages to find a crack through which she can wriggle into the obstetrics department, but then her problems begin. At every step of the way, Rifki finds her path blocked by all sorts of dilemmas, from her mother's remarriage and her own babysitting problems to the hostile opposition of Nurit Lipshitz, the midwifery instructor, and Dr. Mark Weingrad, the ambitious overseer of the department. Can she persevere in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds? And what would be the price of success? These are the burning questions that trouble Rifki as she tries to get it right. In Getting It Right, Ruthie Pearlman has once again used her narrative talents and saucy humor to bring Rifki's story to life. In essence, it is a story about people, and the people in this book are colorful and memorable, both those newly introduced and those already familiar to the readers of Working It Out. It is a story about dreams and hope, reality and responsibility, and the need to get it right. The third and final part of the trilogy, Making It Last, is already in the advanced stages of preparation.
by Ruthie Pearlman