A review by elissazimmer
The Road to Character by David Brooks

4.0

I read this book with my mentor as a way to explore what makes character. I am feeling a little irked at reading a book by a white man. Though I am not strictly limiting which authors I read, I want to try to seek out more books from perspectives other than that, because while he set out to say the book would be about a diverse cast of people, I think this fell short of that. I wonder what a book like this could look like if written by a Black woman or LGBTQ person.

I think there are some fleetingly interesting points made about character here that gave me brief food for thought as I think about my leadership philosophy. The struggle to balance between Adam I and Adam II = the fight for advancing half-assedly in one's career vs slowing down and living by your values and having a sense of what is right and wrong and abiding by that, treating others well, etc. I think overall this book made me a little sad and think about capitalism ruins everything. Reading this in light of the pandemic made me reflect on how much I've valued having more time at home to figure out who I am and what life pace works for me. (Yes, I'm coming from a place of privilege.) I am loathe to go back to a 40-hour workweek with commute that doesn't allow for all the other responsibilities that an adult needs to take on. I hope and wish enough people felt this way to make change and not just care about money.