The Wrong Calamity

A Memoir

In her award-winning memoir, The Wrong Calamity, Marsha reveals the private and ultimately triumphant life she hid for fifty years.

Raised to believe she was worthless, she married an abusive man she believed saw something good in her. What he actually saw was her vulnerability. She finally escaped with her two children in a harrowing car chase. While fending off her vengeful ex, she built a successful career and found new love in a second marriage—until a tragedy from the past shattered that marriage, her work, and many of her closest relationships.

Her rise from a demolished life to one of happiness and fulfillment provides inspiration and a blueprint for overcoming adversity.

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Literary Honors for The Wrong Calamity

  • For a superior work by a debut author in any genre

  • Recognizing emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir

  • An international book award for freethinking writers and independent books of exceptional merit

Reader Reviews

  • We start out this journey with a grim sense of how the deck is stacked against our young protagonist, and we end it suffused with the powerfully redemptive insights of a mature person. This book has actually made me look forward to growing older.

    —Madeleine E

  • At-times hilarious, often heart-rending, and ultimately an insightful journey. It’s hard to believe one woman could triumph over police car chases, the Amazon jungle, boardrooms, and two pivotal blizzards - but Marsha does. Central to this story are her growing self-awareness and refusal to take scraps. I even found more of myself along the way.

    —Steven Gross

  • We have all made regrettable decisions, especially in our youth. Marsha Jacobson writes with growing understanding of her own course corrections, some calculated, some desperate. The strength she gains over the years is there when she needs to make a most painful, generous decision.

    —BWR

  • It takes bravery to share such a story & immense skill to make the reader feel the story.

    —mowgliwithabook, Instagram

  • Gripping story beautifully told. What a story and what a storyteller. You cannot but have empathy for this strong lady who survived so much. She is an inspiration for us all.

    — Jonah S. Bergman

  • An incredible tribute to the human spirit and its resilience in the face of obstacles that seem insurmountable.

    —booksloveandunderstanding, Instagram

  • As the mom of a child who recently suffered a stroke, I found tremendous hope and inspiration in this book.

    — Dr. Sasha Yampolsky

  • READ THIS BOOK! Aside from being one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read, it's as suspenseful as a Bond story, strong on the can-do female spirit, and impossible to put down.

    — Claire Butler

Editorial Reviews

“Cleareyed insights. . . useful to readers looking to learn from Jacobson’s experiences and start making better decisions for themselves.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“This will serve as an inspiration (and road map) to other women facing [abuse] . . .  ‘The Wrong Calamity’ [is] enlightening, revealing, and hard to put down.”

— Midwest Book Review

“[Jacobson writes about] the resourceful and courageous ways she coped with one crisis after another. The result is fascinating and compelling reading.”

—Joyce Johnson, author of the prize-winning memoir, Minor Characters

“Riveting. Thoughtful and engaging. . . Compelling memoir of breaking free of a controlling relationship.”

— BookLife

“Marsha Jacobson's ‘The Wrong Calamity’ is a courageously written story of a courageously lived life. She takes us inside unexpected stress and pain to renewed hope with humane clarity.”

—Walter Bode, former editor-in-chief of Grove Press and a senior editor at Harcourt

“[Jacobson] is living proof that beginning in calamity doesn’t mean you have to stay there. . . . There is a lot of wisdom woven through this book.”

— Reader Views

Read These Full Reviews

Bookclubs: An invitation from Marsha

Nothing makes me happier than visiting with book clubs that have read The Wrong Calamity. I meet with you in person if practical and on Zoom if not, and it always feels like time spent with new friends. If we’re in person, I’ll sign your books. If we’re online, I’ll mail you signed bookplates. And after our gathering, I’ll gift Kindle copies to a few of your friends and relatives—my way of saying thank you for welcoming me in.

There’s never a speaker fee. Just reach out through the contact form and let’s make it happen!

Meet the Author

Compelling, inspiring and deeply moving. . . [Jacobson] offers hope while also leaving space for the pain.

~ Dr. Jill Leibowitz, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist

Work With Marsha