Book #76: Life is So Good

Title: Life is So Good


Author: George Dawson and Richard Glaubman


We read Life is So Good as our book club book this month. I wasn't really expecting to like it. It's the story of a man who lives an honest, unexceptional life in Texas, and learns to read at the age of 98. Suddenly, he becomes a celebrity.


I was worried that the book would be sort of trite and too positive, something in the Tuesdays with Morrie vein. I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the book was about the normal encounters Dawson had throughout his life as a black man in the South. He worked hard, loved his family, explored a lot, and made mistakes. One of the girls in the group complained that his life was boring and not really book-worthy. I guess that's what I liked about the story-- it's the story of what for 98 years was a pretty unexceptional life. If he hadn't learned to read, his life story would probably be lost by now. It made me think of my grandparents and great-grandparents who lived well and died and now live in our memories. I enjoyed Dawson's story and felt it was worth reading, and it reminded me that lives are worth remembering, no matter how mundane they may seem.


--originally published 11/11/06