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74 reviews for:
What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question
Po Bronson
3.46 AVERAGE
74 reviews for:
What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question
Po Bronson
3.46 AVERAGE
I generally like reading compilations of stories about people’s lives – especially if I think I might find some insight for my own life, but this book was a disappointment. “What should I do with my life?” is a great question – but it makes no sense to include stories of people who didn’t figure it out. A lot of the people in the book had just recently “figured it out” …in time for the book. Sometimes this was a little too convenient, especially when the author’s prodding was involved in their finding their calling. The book appears organized when you peruse the section headings, but instead is disjointed and confusing. The author interrupts his narratives on other people with far too much analysis of his own life. I just don’t care for his story *that* much. A much better book is: Gig: Americans talk about their jobs.
Transformative. I'm so glad I read this. It helped me to not only see my story in others but it also inspired me. I regretted not having a pen or a highlighter handy while I was reading this because there was some real gems in this book. I doge-eared a couple of pages to read again. Even with the people who's stories I couldn't really relate to I still learned something. I wasn't just peeping into the lives of others, I feel like I was part of their journey too. Like I learned something valuable in addition to their story. It makes me wonder if a new version of this book should be done for every generation since some of the dates and events were old. The people's struggles and choices though were timeless. I'd love a 'where are they now' type of book, but I guess that wouldn't be as interesting as how they got there. Bronson really found a unique and diverse group - although it could have been diverse. I would have liked more working class and middle class stories. More stories about women of color, mothers. He acknowledges this in the end. I've only been done with this book for a day and I've already recommended it to someone. That's how amazing it is.
While reading, I found most of the individual's stories about how they'd arrived at their careers fairly interesting. While some had definite goals and a path, many stumbled into them by blind luck and many hadn't yet found their way at all (by their own assessment). I didn't feel compelled to finish it and now I can hardly remember anything of significance from it. Likely, I would've benefitted more if I had read this concurrently and had ample time to discuss it with one or more co-readers.
Blech. I made myself finish this because . . . well, that's what I do. I didn't feel like I was worthy of a poor review if I didn't read the whole book, in case, you know, it suddenly morphed into a compelling revelation of What I Should Do With My Life. So, I, now, without reservation, give myself permission to "dis" this self-aggrandizing anthology compiled by Mr. Bronson after months (?) of inserting himself into the lives of individuals (when he deemed them worthy) who ranged from content to nearly suicidal over their vocational choices. More than once, I wanted to call him out for practicing psychology or social work without proper training or licensure! It read like a season of Real World: Wrong Career, complete with jerky camera shots and awkward soul-bearing. I hoped that this book would help me in my work as a college and career advisor in a large, urban high school. Yeah, no.
I'm about to reach a fork in the road, so to speak. In a couple years I'll retire (with a lowercase 'r') with twenty years of service in the Army. So...this book's title jumped right out at me. WSIDwML smelled appetizing on the shelf. I'll let you know how it tastes.
31 July 2011
A worthwhile read for those of us looking ahead to a big career change. The book consists of personal stories of people who took the leap to change their line of work for the sake of happiness and fulfillment, some of them in the middle of successful careers. Some succeed. Some fail. All learn something about themselves. For me, about to leave the military after twenty years of service to enter an economy in shambles, the book is a source of useful information about what others' experiences have been.
31 July 2011
A worthwhile read for those of us looking ahead to a big career change. The book consists of personal stories of people who took the leap to change their line of work for the sake of happiness and fulfillment, some of them in the middle of successful careers. Some succeed. Some fail. All learn something about themselves. For me, about to leave the military after twenty years of service to enter an economy in shambles, the book is a source of useful information about what others' experiences have been.
Though this is one of my favorite books, I liked some chapters/people's stories better than others. Po Bronson, (who may be compared to the late, great Studs Terkel) takes us through why people choose the jobs they have. It opens up with a man who gets a letter from the Dalai Lama when he's 18 that says he is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior scholar. So, he becomes a lama. All of the interviews are interesting, and Bronson shows just a little bit of himself as a non-objective, interested participant in this exploration of destiny/fate/choices/life.
I am not a fan of this book. I wanted it to be objective. The author constantly inserts himself, acts like some sort of expert and takes us out of the story.
Bronson went around interviewing many people who'd asked themselves the question. It's an interesting book; he structured it according to the way he thinks we usually ask ourselves this question, so it begins with someone who had his destiny dropped into his lap. As I read, I found my usual notions of "how people decide what to do with themselves" challenged. The book doesn't provide answers, but it does give a sense of what other questions we should be asking ourselves.
Got this from the library. I was worried that it would be nonstop "I gave up my job as a lawyer to save orphans, and now I'm totally fulfilled!" stories. There were some of those, but not that many. In fact, most of the people in the book don't actually have it figured out. They're grappling with the question, and might see a path that could get them there, but it's not clear that the path they see is the right one, or that they're capable of taking it. As the book goes on, Bronson seems to insert his opinions about what people should do more forcefully, and I found that less and less appealing.
I'm not sure that the central question is the right one. I instinctively resist the idea that I "should" do anything with my life (and Bronson makes it clear that that's not an accidental phrasing). After reading it, I don't have a feeling that there's something that I want to be doing differently. Perhaps I'm just obstinate. Or maybe things are just going well right now.
I'm not sure that the central question is the right one. I instinctively resist the idea that I "should" do anything with my life (and Bronson makes it clear that that's not an accidental phrasing). After reading it, I don't have a feeling that there's something that I want to be doing differently. Perhaps I'm just obstinate. Or maybe things are just going well right now.