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Me & Issy: A Four Seasons Romance
The rags to riches tale of a larger-than-life romance of over seven decades
Me & Issy is a love story about how a troubled and deprived child chanced to meet a man who worshipped her, brought her a fantasy life of four boys and extraordinary opulence — and banished her self-doubt. She in turn was awestruck and mystified by his acumen and daring during his founding of the Four Seasons Hotels.
Beginning with her childhood in North Toronto, in a very Jewish home surrounded by non-Jews, Rosalie enchants us with anecdotes about her family, Isadore Sharp’s family, and the growth of their own in the light of the expanding Four Seasons chain. How did she go to the Ontario College of Art & Design while simultaneously raising four rambunctious boys? How did Issy open hotel after hotel with only his collateral of confidence and charisma? Rosalie is a rapt follower of his astonishing success and the first fan of his legendary town hall talks to 40,000 employees.
And with success came tragedy. The devastating death of their son Chris shook them, but they coped. Here, all of Rosalie’s life is opened up for viewing, the good and the bad, the success and the failures, but especially her inspired romance with Issy. In the words of their second eldest son, Greg, “Their mutual love and respect growing stronger over the past 69 years is as extraordinary as it is beautiful.”
Me & Issy is a love story about how a troubled and deprived child chanced to meet a man who worshipped her, brought her a fantasy life of four boys and extraordinary opulence — and banished her self-doubt. She in turn was awestruck and mystified by his acumen and daring during his founding of the Four Seasons Hotels.
Beginning with her childhood in North Toronto, in a very Jewish home surrounded by non-Jews, Rosalie enchants us with anecdotes about her family, Isadore Sharp’s family, and the growth of their own in the light of the expanding Four Seasons chain. How did she go to the Ontario College of Art & Design while simultaneously raising four rambunctious boys? How did Issy open hotel after hotel with only his collateral of confidence and charisma? Rosalie is a rapt follower of his astonishing success and the first fan of his legendary town hall talks to 40,000 employees.
And with success came tragedy. The devastating death of their son Chris shook them, but they coped. Here, all of Rosalie’s life is opened up for viewing, the good and the bad, the success and the failures, but especially her inspired romance with Issy. In the words of their second eldest son, Greg, “Their mutual love and respect growing stronger over the past 69 years is as extraordinary as it is beautiful.”
- GenresMemoir
280 pages, Paperback
Published September 8, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 16, 2023
This was an interesting memoir and I enjoyed listening to it on audiobook (narrated by Rosalie Wise Sharp). It’s more about Rosalie than Issy Sharp (aka Mr. Four Seasons Hotelier) and she certainly had a lot to say and share about her work, her background, when and how they first met, and her family. I would have liked to have learned more about Isadore Sharp, as I said, as well as the various Four Seasons Hotels.
One of the bonuses in the memoir is learning about both of their family's history during the Holocaust. It doesn’t matter how many times I read about it, whether NF or F, it is naming the horrific act and keeping the reality and tragedies in our nation's history.
As a fan of the Four Seasons hotels, it was interesting learning about the brief history of how Sharp got started. A very sweet romance too.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and Rosalie Wise Sharp for the ARC audio - she did a terrific job narrating it.
One of the bonuses in the memoir is learning about both of their family's history during the Holocaust. It doesn’t matter how many times I read about it, whether NF or F, it is naming the horrific act and keeping the reality and tragedies in our nation's history.
As a fan of the Four Seasons hotels, it was interesting learning about the brief history of how Sharp got started. A very sweet romance too.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and Rosalie Wise Sharp for the ARC audio - she did a terrific job narrating it.
February 14, 2023
Happy Valentine’s Day! As I continue my ‘month of love’ reading, this work of non-fiction about the marriage of Rosalie and Issy Sharp, the Canadian founders of the billion dollar hotel chain The Four Seasons, is up next. I expected to read a book about a challenging marriage to a high-powered CEO, but instead A Four Seasons Romance by Rosalie Wise Sharp is an overview of a life well-lived, taking the good with the bad, and enjoying life to the fullest despite its challenges. Now being married for almost 70 years, there are many lessons to take away from this book and this couple, and luckily Rosalie wraps it up in an entertaining package.
Book Summary
Rosalie Wise is a spunky, independent woman who grew up in an immigrant household in Toronto that expected everyone to be frugal, hard-working, and tough. She made her own clothes and refused to help with household chores, but worked outside the home to make money and contribute. Rosalie met Isadore Sharp in 1952 when she was 16 and he was 21. They fell in love, and have been together ever since. Izzy started out as a construction worker and builder, but through business savvy, kindness and humility, he grew a billion-dollar business that is now the most luxurious hotel chain in the world. They had four sons, one who sadly passed away from cancer at the age of 18, yet despite this tragedy, Rosalie remains an optimistic and energetic person. While Izzy was building an empire, Rosalie started an interior design as her boys got older. She also paints, filling their homes with colourful canvases that also serve as title pages for each chapter in the book. Now enjoying her retired life in Palm Springs, she exercises, plays bridge, and going out on dinner dates every night with Izzy. This book is written during the beginning of the pandemic, so she’s frequently referring to this time as a forced period of reflection for them both, taking a break from their travel-intense lifestyle to visit their hotels all over the world. According to the Four Seasons website and Rosalie, Izzy is still working almost every day, despite his 90 years.
My Thoughts
If you are looking for a book about the lifestyles of the rich and famous, this is not one of them. The fact that they are incredibly wealthy doesn’t really factor into her stories. It allowed them to buy bigger houses and travel the world, but it doesn’t seem to have drastically affected her view of life, or even her view of herself. Instead, their success acts as a catalyst for looking back on their lives to determine what contributed to their happiness so they can pass along this wisdom to others. Rosalie’s (in her words) ‘difficult’ upbringing is something she describes in detail (the story of her tapeworm will stay with me forever!) yet she also credits it with forming some of her most endearing qualities, including her work ethic.
Rosalie clearly has many talents, but sticking to a clear and logical timeline is not one of them. My only complaint about this book is the scattered way her thoughts are communicated – there are many unnecessary asides and stories that serve to confuse rather than move the book along. Despite this, I found myself enthralled with her writing, even if it appeared in a disjointed way.
I was expecting this book to have some secrets to a happy marriage, and although its clear this couple is still madly in love with each other, what was most obvious was the fact that Rosalie so clearly respects and admires Issy, and he feels the same. He wrote the introduction,where he lists her achievements, and genuinely communicates his deep sense of appreciation for her energy and drive. He also points to her loyalty as something that kept him going over the years, which is a nice reminder to all couples. She was supportive in his work, and “if things didn’t work, she was ready to face the problems together” (p. 8 of Me & Issy by Rosalie Wise Sharp).
In addition to their son’s death, the holocaust and its wiping away of Rosalie’s family history is something that clearly haunts her, and she speaks at length of its effect on her life and psyche. Many of her family were murdered in concentration camps. Further to that, I was shocked to learn that even in the mid 1980s, her and Issy were denied membership at private clubs because they were Jewish; less than 40 years ago! It’s a disgrace to think how recently this happened, and I must admit it made me feel a bit ashamed to read it as a fellow Canadian because I knew the clubs she mentioned. The fact that these discriminatory policies still existed in my lifetime is upsetting, but made me admire Rosalie even more because she wasn’t bitter about it, she simply pointed to the fact that it was common at the time.
A realistic but fortuitous match, this marriage isn’t one that many people can relate to, but it’s one that we can all aspire to. An unwavering belief and adoration of one’s partner seems to be the key to happiness, not just in a marriage, but in one’s life as a whole.
To read the rest of my reviews, please visit my blog:
https://ivereadthis.com/
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Book Summary
Rosalie Wise is a spunky, independent woman who grew up in an immigrant household in Toronto that expected everyone to be frugal, hard-working, and tough. She made her own clothes and refused to help with household chores, but worked outside the home to make money and contribute. Rosalie met Isadore Sharp in 1952 when she was 16 and he was 21. They fell in love, and have been together ever since. Izzy started out as a construction worker and builder, but through business savvy, kindness and humility, he grew a billion-dollar business that is now the most luxurious hotel chain in the world. They had four sons, one who sadly passed away from cancer at the age of 18, yet despite this tragedy, Rosalie remains an optimistic and energetic person. While Izzy was building an empire, Rosalie started an interior design as her boys got older. She also paints, filling their homes with colourful canvases that also serve as title pages for each chapter in the book. Now enjoying her retired life in Palm Springs, she exercises, plays bridge, and going out on dinner dates every night with Izzy. This book is written during the beginning of the pandemic, so she’s frequently referring to this time as a forced period of reflection for them both, taking a break from their travel-intense lifestyle to visit their hotels all over the world. According to the Four Seasons website and Rosalie, Izzy is still working almost every day, despite his 90 years.
My Thoughts
If you are looking for a book about the lifestyles of the rich and famous, this is not one of them. The fact that they are incredibly wealthy doesn’t really factor into her stories. It allowed them to buy bigger houses and travel the world, but it doesn’t seem to have drastically affected her view of life, or even her view of herself. Instead, their success acts as a catalyst for looking back on their lives to determine what contributed to their happiness so they can pass along this wisdom to others. Rosalie’s (in her words) ‘difficult’ upbringing is something she describes in detail (the story of her tapeworm will stay with me forever!) yet she also credits it with forming some of her most endearing qualities, including her work ethic.
Rosalie clearly has many talents, but sticking to a clear and logical timeline is not one of them. My only complaint about this book is the scattered way her thoughts are communicated – there are many unnecessary asides and stories that serve to confuse rather than move the book along. Despite this, I found myself enthralled with her writing, even if it appeared in a disjointed way.
I was expecting this book to have some secrets to a happy marriage, and although its clear this couple is still madly in love with each other, what was most obvious was the fact that Rosalie so clearly respects and admires Issy, and he feels the same. He wrote the introduction,where he lists her achievements, and genuinely communicates his deep sense of appreciation for her energy and drive. He also points to her loyalty as something that kept him going over the years, which is a nice reminder to all couples. She was supportive in his work, and “if things didn’t work, she was ready to face the problems together” (p. 8 of Me & Issy by Rosalie Wise Sharp).
In addition to their son’s death, the holocaust and its wiping away of Rosalie’s family history is something that clearly haunts her, and she speaks at length of its effect on her life and psyche. Many of her family were murdered in concentration camps. Further to that, I was shocked to learn that even in the mid 1980s, her and Issy were denied membership at private clubs because they were Jewish; less than 40 years ago! It’s a disgrace to think how recently this happened, and I must admit it made me feel a bit ashamed to read it as a fellow Canadian because I knew the clubs she mentioned. The fact that these discriminatory policies still existed in my lifetime is upsetting, but made me admire Rosalie even more because she wasn’t bitter about it, she simply pointed to the fact that it was common at the time.
A realistic but fortuitous match, this marriage isn’t one that many people can relate to, but it’s one that we can all aspire to. An unwavering belief and adoration of one’s partner seems to be the key to happiness, not just in a marriage, but in one’s life as a whole.
To read the rest of my reviews, please visit my blog:
https://ivereadthis.com/
Sign up for my newsletter here: https://ivereadthis.com/subscribe/
Or follow me on social media!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ivereadthis/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD6E...
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August 9, 2023Success very rarely is handed to you. It often consists of hard work, along with a vision for success. That is precisely what you will find in the book ME & ISSY THE FOUR SEASONS ROMANCE. It is the story of Isadore Sharp, the founder of the Four Seasons Hotel chain, along with his wife and life partner Rosalie.
Isadore (Issy) began work as an architect and real estate developer, in his father’s business. But that translated into his vision for his own hotel, resulting in the Four Seasons, which has become one of the most recognizable in the world.
In the book, Rosalie talks of growing up in a Jewish household, where the emphasis was on being money-wise and being hard working. She was independent and worked hard for the money, and shunned household chores. It was when Issy came into her life that everything changed. It was 1952. Rosalie was 16, while Issy was five years older than her. You could call it love at first sight as the pair had a kinship that seemed instantaneous. It was so perfect that they have been together ever since, and over seventy years later, their love and respect for each other is just as powerful. Rosalie writes with great passion, telling of the highs and lows of life. There is a most interesting section about a tapeworm, that let’s just say please do not be eating anything when you come to this section, as it if rather unsettling and gross. Having a mother who once almost died because of a tapeworm, I know what it was like seeing it up close and personal.
There is also another part of the book that is most somber, the death of their son Chris. He died of cancer at a very young age, and the story about his final moments is most touching and sobering. He was buried in another cemetery many years later, a more scenic part that allowed the family a different sort of closure and optimism, thanks to the new locale.
Rosalie is an artist, each chapter beginning with one of her impressive works. The book is filled with a little bit of everything in their lives, the horrors of war Rosalie’s family experienced, their children and grandchildren, the success of their worldwide hotel chain, and the fact that neither of them are ready to ever slow down. Issy is 91 and Rosalie 86, but you would never suspect they were those ages based on the photo from 2021 in the book.
ME & ISSY was a joy to read, a life story filled with so much love, hope, and inspiration, a book you will enjoy any season you read it.
Isadore (Issy) began work as an architect and real estate developer, in his father’s business. But that translated into his vision for his own hotel, resulting in the Four Seasons, which has become one of the most recognizable in the world.
In the book, Rosalie talks of growing up in a Jewish household, where the emphasis was on being money-wise and being hard working. She was independent and worked hard for the money, and shunned household chores. It was when Issy came into her life that everything changed. It was 1952. Rosalie was 16, while Issy was five years older than her. You could call it love at first sight as the pair had a kinship that seemed instantaneous. It was so perfect that they have been together ever since, and over seventy years later, their love and respect for each other is just as powerful. Rosalie writes with great passion, telling of the highs and lows of life. There is a most interesting section about a tapeworm, that let’s just say please do not be eating anything when you come to this section, as it if rather unsettling and gross. Having a mother who once almost died because of a tapeworm, I know what it was like seeing it up close and personal.
There is also another part of the book that is most somber, the death of their son Chris. He died of cancer at a very young age, and the story about his final moments is most touching and sobering. He was buried in another cemetery many years later, a more scenic part that allowed the family a different sort of closure and optimism, thanks to the new locale.
Rosalie is an artist, each chapter beginning with one of her impressive works. The book is filled with a little bit of everything in their lives, the horrors of war Rosalie’s family experienced, their children and grandchildren, the success of their worldwide hotel chain, and the fact that neither of them are ready to ever slow down. Issy is 91 and Rosalie 86, but you would never suspect they were those ages based on the photo from 2021 in the book.
ME & ISSY was a joy to read, a life story filled with so much love, hope, and inspiration, a book you will enjoy any season you read it.
February 1, 2023
Ms. Wise states in the book " we were great snobs". This is the best summary of this book. It was a most interesting read to see how much more entitled Ms. Wise became as her husband's fortunes grew, and certainly she became very entitled. Writing this book in 2021, at about 85 years of age, after the "inconvenience of the pandemic" as she considered Covid to be, this was a "beach day read". It was actually quite hilarious as the wealthier she became, the more snobbish she became recounting with chagrin that a painting she sold for 2 million was now worth 30 million. This could have been a more inspirational story, discussing the value of hard work, the role immigrants played in society, although Rosalie herself was not an immigrant, but a child of immigrants, the way a child of immigrants straddle 2 worlds are can be torn between these two worlds. I chalk it up to the ramblings of an older woman looking at life through rose coloured glasses, and trying to cram a lifetime worth of experience into a short book. I hope she donates any money she makes from this book to a worthwhile cause - no, not herself. Really not worth one's time - would never buy this book. Hope her husband stocked every public library in Canada with this book with his great influence.... and can be easily borrowed electronically from the library, and deleted a day later. Probably was published by an influential friend.
February 9, 2023
I was excited to listen to this book. I enjoy and respect learning from my elders how they have achieved their standing in this world. I greatly admire Rosalie and Issy's love and adoration for each other how they have worked together and developed a world-famous brand, and how they raised their family. Rosalie was very candid in her telling of her life and her and Issy's growing up. I will say I had hoped for an inspiring account of their life. I usually enjoy listening to the author narrates her book but this audiobook might have benefited by having someone else narrate it. I did enjoy the parts that Issy narrated. Also because this was an audiobook you miss out on the photos included in the book. Once again this might have helped me feel more comfortable with Rosalie. Sadly this book was not a good fit for me.
I would like to thank Netgalley and ECW Press for giving an ARC this is my honest review.
I would like to thank Netgalley and ECW Press for giving an ARC this is my honest review.
February 25, 2023
I enjoyed every moment spent reading (and listening to Rosalie Wise Sharp narrate) Me & Issy:A Four Season’s Romance. From their family’s roots in Eastern Europe, to their arrivals in Canada (Toronto, Montréal), through the creation of The Four Season’s Empire, the growth of Issy and Rosalie’s own family, and Rosalie’s design (and artistic) ventures.
I am thankful to NetGalley and ECW Press for my advanced copy of Me & Issy audiobook in return for my honest review. 5 stars. ❤️❤️❤️
The print version of the book does have family photographs and many of Rosalie’s stunning art work. ❤️❤️❤️
I am thankful to NetGalley and ECW Press for my advanced copy of Me & Issy audiobook in return for my honest review. 5 stars. ❤️❤️❤️
The print version of the book does have family photographs and many of Rosalie’s stunning art work. ❤️❤️❤️
March 25, 2023
This was a fascinating memoir about the creators of the Four Seasons Hotel chain, Isadore (Issy) and Rosalie Sharp. It is more about where the grew up, how they met and then how their lives changed as their hotel chain grew and became an established and respected business around the world. Narrated by Rosalie, her love and admiration for both Issy and her family shines through. Some of the details I found overly long but nevertheless less fascinating. Thank you to Net Galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
September 13, 2022
This little piece of Canadiana was an inspirational read. Rosalie Wise Sharp's memoir is more than just an immigrant success story but rather a tale of lifelong love with an unfailing partnership and service to others at its core. Check out my review here https://firesidecollections.blogspot....
December 4, 2025
Very interesting to read the life story of the woman who married the man who created the Four Seasons Hotels. I was expecting for there to be more stories of her travels but it was mostly just how her Jewish upbringing impacted her worldview. The pacing of the book felt slow, but the story was interesting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews