WWRW: Life is So Good

I did in fact read the book for book club even though I hadn't started last week. Very unlike me but I was having problems with the digital file downloading to my Kindle and wound up resorting to reading it in the browser which was not the most enjoyable format but sure beat paying $9.

So the book was Life is So Good by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman.

The short story is that this is the biography of George an African American man who learned to read at 98. Born in 1898 he lived until 2001 which is very cool that he lived for 3 different centuries. George has a unique perspective on The United States as a poor black man and he shares his story throughout the book. 

The long story is this. The first chapter is awfully off putting. Young George as a child was a reluctant witness to a lynching of someone he knew. This first chapter is sad and disturbing but puts George's world into perspective immediately. George used this one experience to shape his life and we as readers then take George's life journey with him. 

From leaving home to work on a farm at age 12 in order to support his family through riding the rails as a young adult experiencing the world around him, George gives us insight and gems of wisdom that you can take away for sure. Richard (the co-author who lived with George for a time) often starts a chapter with a newspaper article blip and asks George's opinion on it. The most fascinating thing is seeing the entire 20th century from George's perspective. 

My favorite bit was at the very end of the book and I am going to share it with you. 

"Some people are growing children, not raising children and there's a big difference ... Well, people grow hogs. You give them a place to live, give them all the food they need to keep growing, and make sure they don't get sick on you. With children you got to raise them. Of course, you feed and clothe them. But a parent has to take the time to teach them right and wrong. A parent has to discipline them. And a parent got to be there to listen to them, help them with their problems. I think most people do their best, but there are some parents these days that are growing children, not raising children." Chapter 24. (I don't know the new MLA citation for ebooks and truthfully I just don't care enough to look them up right now.) 

My book club unanimously liked the book and had a good discussion about it. There was a sense that we felt the book was lacking in his middle aged years. He went from freshly married to a senior citizen practically but the book is still good nevertheless. 

I'd recommend it. I would even give it to a teenager who would be able to get past the first chapter as a look into the negative history of America.

Happily linking up with Jessica today after a hiatus I didn't enjoy! Happy Reading!