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215-885-7701 Rivian Marcus knows it’s never too late to publish your first
book. After all, she published hers at 91.

“I woke up in the middle of the night, went to my desk and
sat and wrote it in one sitting,” she said of “Life Is A Four-Letter
Word: It Takes The Alphabet To Live It,” which she published on
Amazon in March.

For every letter of the alphabet, Marcus writes words of
wisdom to live by. A stands for “Accept reality,” B for “Be wary of
easy fixes” and C for “Cancel negative thoughts.” Her daughter-
in-law, Tara Marcus, illustrated and designed the book.

“Negative thoughts bring negative situations into your life.

We are like magnets, attracting what we give off,” Marcus said.

Marcus is an avid reader — she goes through a book a day
on her e-reader app — but this is her first venture into writing.

Her self-help book is based on topics she spoke about frequently
during her years as a para-chaplain.

slhomecare.com COURTESY OF TARA MARCUS
PA State Licensed. All caregivers are bonded and insured.

The former interior decorator became a para-chaplain after
surviving cancer in her early 80s. Her mother and sister both
succumbed to the disease at younger ages, and her recovery
seemed like nothing short of a miracle.

She took a three-year course and said she and her cohort were
taught to be helpful to people in need. It harkened back to what
she was taught by her mother at an early age.

Marcus grew up in South Philadelphia during the height
of the Great Depression, and can vividly recall the sight of
people coming into her parents’ bakery with food stamps from
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal programs.

16 DECEMBER 17, 2020
THE GOOD LIFE
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



“Age creeps up on you when you’re not ready for it. When you’re in
good health, I suggest at the end of the book, get around and see what’s
available, get a lot of information, visit institutions and read up on it and
keep it for your children, so when you’re in need of that kind of help they
have that information.”
RIVIAN MARCUS
When they came to the counter for rolls and loaves, her mother
would always sneak a few cookies into their bags.

“I remember her saying, ‘Even when you’re hungry, you wish
you had something sweet to eat,’” Marcus said.

One day, during a visit to a hospital near Wynnewood,
Marcus encountered a weeping man in his mid-30s.

“I said, ‘What can I do for you?’ And he said to me, ‘I just
found out I’m HIV-positive. And I’m a married man. And not
only am I responsible to my wife, but I look aft er my father, too.

What am I going to do?”
She held his hand.

“I said, ‘You must pray and ask God to help you fi nd strength
to face your reality. And there is help for the disease. Seek that
help. Be there for your family,’” she recalled.

She conducted Friday morning services, seders, Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur services while living in Boca Raton,
Florida. She even conducted a seder in the middle of the ocean
while aboard a cruise ship carrying 3,000 passengers.

She recalled that people stuck around aft erward to tell her
how much they had enjoyed it. Th e last man in the room spoke
SEE MARCUS | Page 18
There are many pages in a long,
rich life. What will you be inspired
to do next?
Maybe you’ll find time for a new
approach to fitness, enhance your
woodworking skills, take a class.

Or just appreciate the convenience
of a walk to the store.

i am
just getting
started To learn more, call 215 -999-3619 or visit RydalPark.org
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM THE GOOD LIFE
Whatever your next chapter brings,
you can open up the time and
space for it here, in a community
that supports your goals every
step of the way.

...to be continued
DECEMBER 17, 2020
17