The Tale
of Miss Berta London, by Jihan Latimer is a
book about hope, redemption, and learning what really matters in life.
Miss Berta is a fashion editor for a magazine called E-Fashion Magazine. She is a hard working, obsessive-compulsive perfectionist. She is self-absorbed and doesn’t have any
friends or family. Miss Berta London’s only real life is based on her work performance which
was soon to be in complete disarray when she put on a fashion show in New
York. All of the top fashion designers were
there in anticipation, however, the show was a complete failure; leaving her
top designers such as Chanel, Dior and Calvin Klein dropping their endorsements
from E-Fashion Magazine. This would create a complete upheaval in Miss
Berta’s life, forcing her to officially close the business and find a suitable
job; which was an uphill battle. Finally,
after six months of tedious work trying to find employment, Miss Berta noticed
an ad in the newspaper for a nanny job paying $1,500 a week taking care of
three children. Miss Berta didn’t like
kids, however she needed the money, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
The new job began her transition of having to take care of someone
other than herself. Fundamentally, the
children were good kids; just spoiled and constantly crying out for
attention. Miss Berta was able to
provide the discipline and proper guidance to these children in order for them to
grow and mature into thriving young adults. In fact, even the parents were able to learn from Miss Berta. This was a transformation process that didn’t
happen overnight, but it changed Miss Berta into a better person. It made her a vessel for helping other
people, not just herself. In doing such,
she started a new magazine titled, “Miss
Berta and the Family,” which gave her the opportunity to help other
children who also may have been facing challenging problems.
“The Tale of Miss Berta
London,” is an inspirational, fun story with a lesson to be learned; that is
to ask yourself many fundamental questions about our sense of purpose in this
increasingly complex world. The gentle messages of love, compassion and giving
are found throughout this book. It reads
as a heartwarming story that addresses the most basic elements of humanity-- with
all of its strengths and vulnerabilities.
When you read this book, you find yourself pausing
to remember holy pieces of yourself and a human relationship with divinity. I
found the book delightfully rich which encourages us to seek the deeper meaning
that makes up a human life. It is a powerful book that radiates compassion and
a willingness to take the risk out of uncovering one's humanness.
