Author: Randy Pausch
Number of Pages: 206
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Review:
A story that brings to existence the meaning of living life, this story will bring tears to your eyes and raise your spirits in this uplifting story of a dying man, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. The book is about a man, Randy Pausch, who is dying of pancreatic cancer. Randy has a wife and 3 young children. Randy wrote the book as a memorial for his children to read when they are older so they know their dad. In the book Randy describes things he wants to leave for his kids, lessons learned, dreams, etc. The book is very uplifting and shows how to get the most out of life. Randy is a professor and is asked to give a last lecture at the college he works at. For Randy this would actually be his last lecture. The book is so unique because he is writing it for his children when they are older to know their dad, since he has cancer and has 3-6 months to live. This is so special and really makes the book more meaningful to read. The way Randy writes is very relaxed for an author. It’s not very formal which makes is a bit easier to read and to understand. It's nice because it makes is more of a lighter read.
Randy while writing his last lecture comes across the question "What do I alone, truly have to offer?" Besides his cancer, besides him dying, he figures out what makes him different than everyone else and discovers what he has to offer. Discovering what you have to offer is so deep and makes you reflect on yourself. With him dying Randy knows he is going to leave his kids without a parent, without a father. He knows he has to express his love for them somehow. Randy says some wise words about living without a parent, "...kids more than anything else- need to know their parents love them. Their parents don't have to be alive for that to happen." A lot of kids struggle with losing a parent or even a loved one and what he said is true for so many people. While Randy is sharing advise he discovers one very important thing that a lot of people tend to forget. He is in the grocery store and is checking out at a self check. When he swipes his card the receipt doesn't pop out. So he swipes the card again and starts all over. This time two receipts pop out. So he has do decide whether he wants to track down the manager to get the money off or to just leave. In the end he "...left the store, happier to have fifteen minutes than sixteen dollars". This book is for people who are lighthearted and like to be uplifted and inspired when reading. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. It's lighthearted, fun, easy to read. You won't be able to put the book down. Chapter after chapter it still grabs your attention. The book doesn't focus on the main character dying it focuses on how to live. This book makes you think about your life in ways you haven't, and makes you want to go out live your life more. It's inspiring, it makes you feel warm inside, and it's happy. Make The Last Lecture the next book on your list.
Just reading your review made my tear up. I've heard of this book before and from what I've heard, it sounds like an amazing book. It sounds so unbelievably sad though! Quick question though, is it a fast read? Because he is a professor, does he use high vocabulary?
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a wonderful book! I like how instead of focusing on dying, he focuses on living and leaving something behind. I find it interesting that he decided to publish the book for everyone to see, and not only keeping it for his children who he wrote it for.
ReplyDeleteJust from reading your review it really made me think about the question, "What do I alone, truly have to offer?" A question that everyone has asked themselves before. This is a sign of a good review, making the reader connect what your talking about with themselves. Now I would really like the book to find out what Randy had to say about that question for himself.
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