One Heart at a Time

Radio personality Delilah brings her usual mixture of heartwarming anecdotes and encouragement to this disjointed memoir. Each loosely thematic chapter connects a story from her youth to her recent charitable work. Raised by an inconsistent, controlling father and a meek, penny-pinching mother, Delilah’s youthful ambitions to help others often met resistance. Yet she credits the severe atmosphere and her personal relationship to God with laying the groundwork for her work aimed at alleviating the suffering of others. After professional success, she began adopting children (10 in total) and supporting a refugee camp in Ghana through her Point Hope organization. In between stories of raising teenagers and a peripatetic career, Delilah describes the damage she has seen alcoholism and abuse inflict on her friends and loved ones. She only cursorily alludes to many major aspects of her life, including her romantic relationships, and does not arrange stories in chronological order. The hazy result is more a meditation on charity than a clear biography. While occasionally tending towards preening over her own accomplishments, Delilah’s stories hum with the joy of serving others. Fans of her homespun style will enjoy her stories of care, concern, and love. (Feb.)