The ambitious determination and perseverance that have carried Rifki Goldberg through "Working it Out" and "Getting it Right" have finally brought her close to her dream of becoming a fully qualified medical doctor, at a heavy price for herself, her husband and her two-year-old son. Nevertheless, she now stands on the threshold of finally achieving her goal; through the sponsorship of a grateful philanthropist she has been accepted into a medical training program in Labirut Shash Hospital. True, it would require further sacrifice on the part of her family, but after that one final push, she will be home free; at long last, she will be a real doctor. Rifki finds herself at a crossroads in her life. Where now? What is the right thing for her to do? In "Making it Last," the long-awaited final part of this vibrant and often hilarious trilogy, Rifki Goldberg struggles with the dilemmas and conflicts in her life until she discovers her true priorities. In the process, she finds herself leaving her beloved Eretz Yisrael to live in England, carving out a new career for herself, taking a series of zany driving lessons, getting involved with a frustrated female writer and weathering one tumultuous crisis after another. But in the end, Rifki learns what it takes to put her life in order. With "Making it Last," we reluctantly take our leave of Rifki Goldberg, after having shared her hopes and dreams, her disappointments and successes, her joys and sorrows, her tragedies and triumphs. We have already seen Rifki work it out and get it right, and now we watch fascinated as she makes it last.
by Ruthie Pearlman