Blessed: I'm So Damn Grateful

by Raymond M. Saunders, Craig Saunders

ADVANCE MAGAZINE SUMMARY Unique memoirs of a ninety-two-year-old blind Iowa farmer and pioneering siblings, orphaned by murder/suicide, who built an international cattle empire and lost it in the Depression. A story of common courage, faith, family values and a way of life. Illustrated.

564 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 2004

Reviews

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blessed: I'm so Damned Grateful is the retelling of the Saunders family history, tragedy, and triumphs through the eyes of Raymond M. Saunders. Saunders begins his account with stories told to him about his great grandparents, his great grandfather's battles with alcohol, and a tragic murder-suicide that left his grandfather an orphan at age fourteen. Saunders also discusses the hardships of the Great Depression and the World Wars. Retrospectively, however, the author does not lament the pain and suffering of these periods of time. Instead, Saunders describes how these hardships shaped the Saunders family and how these events made the author realize the true importance of his family.

Blessed: I'm so Damned Grateful is the story of an average man living his life. Some would say his story is not extraordinary. He didn't cure cancer or play professional baseball and he wasn't a movie star. Instead, the author simply recognized that what he had was something very unique and special, family. That he recognized this fact and lived his life based on that reality, I believe, is extremely extraordinary. In our chaotic daily lives, it is important to forget for an instant the material things that we don't have and be thankful for what we do have, namely our friends and family.