The Last Lecture

Reading is a passion of mine, but in the past few years my reading has become an act of listening. I go to the library and check out books on CD and listen as I travel back and forth to work. It is a fabulous way to "read". I do miss snuggling into the sofa with a Diet Cherry Pepsi and a book though.

Recently I was given a book, a real book, with written words, and I really wanted to read it, so I made the time. I haven't finished it, but I can tell you already that if you haven't read it yet, you really should.

The book is titled, "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. The forward reads, "A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them"... Randy Pausch "didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave - "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" - wasn't about dying".

I know a little about this kind of cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, as it was the type that took my father-in-law last year on Father's Day. He had been diagnosed about a month prior, and just had time to put affairs in order and say his good-byes. Randy Pausch did the same thing, in a magnificent way.

His lecture is uplifting, humorous, and touching. One of my favorite anecdotes so far is in Chapter 10, "Winning Big". He says,

"One of my earliest childhood dreams was to be the coolest guy at any amusement park or carnival I visited. I always knew exactly how that kind of coolness was achieved.

The coolest guy was easy to spot: He was the one walking around with the largest stuffed animal."

The entire book is written in that positive, childlike perspective. It's uplifing and it reminds you of what truly is important. It touches on the sweet relationship with his wife and kids, and the conflict his desires in his last months present as his time is not equal to the things he wants and needs to do. At one point he tells his wife, "An injured lion still wants to roar." As you read, you realize that this lecture is his last great roar.

It's worth your time. I've been snuggled in my couch reading, and at this time in my life I wouldn't sacrifice my time like that for most books. So get a Diet Cherry Pepsi, "The Last Lecture", and a comfy corner of the couch and join me, and in January, we'll do a blog book-club of this great book! Invite your friends, the more the merrier.

You can buy this book at Costco for $12.49, and at Amazon, new and used for $12.00.