Love Life in 100+ Books in 2025

Dec 17, 2014 Dolly rated it really liked it

Shelves: biography-autobiography-memoir, education-school, france-french, nonfiction, other-usa, read-but-not-finished-reviewing, 2014, parenting, ocean-seashore

This is the second biography/memoir that Mr. Lowe has published in the last four years and while it may seem a bit much, his stories are very entertaining and insightful.

As with his first book, I really enjoyed listening to him narrate it aloud on audio CD. I think I got more of the nuances, sarcasm, and humor from his tone of voice, as well as from the different voices he imitates, than I might've gotten from just the written word.

The book, however, has some cool photos and I briefly ran thro This is the second biography/memoir that Mr. Lowe has published in the last four years and while it may seem a bit much, his stories are very entertaining and insightful.

As with his first book, I really enjoyed listening to him narrate it aloud on audio CD. I think I got more of the nuances, sarcasm, and humor from his tone of voice, as well as from the different voices he imitates, than I might've gotten from just the written word.

The book, however, has some cool photos and I briefly ran through the pages to grab some of the memorable quotes I liked as well as to check out the pictures I'd missed.

interesting quotes (from hardcover edition with ISBN13 9781451685718):

"When you can no longer be moved and inspired by greatness (or worse, don't know it when you see it), it's time to pack it up. If you can't marvel at the beauty of Yosemite Valley or of K.D. Lang and Roy Orbison singing "Crying," if you aren't humbled by the west wall of the Lincoln Memorial, aren't buckled by the language of his second inaugural inscribed there, "With malice toward none, with charity for all," you are already dead. When the color guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or the tones of Yo-Yo Ma's cello no longer speak to you, you can no longer be reached." (p. 79)

"So I tell my boys that they need to say yes to life, just do it, get out oand make their own memories. I tell them to think of it as a vocation; after all, we never think twice about toiling for money and yet when our time comes it won't be our bank balance that comforts us. I tell them to not be afraid. Don't fear the rejection that can come from putting yourself out there. Don't avoid the boredom of the long road trip; the destination may surprise you and be worth every second. You will need something to talk about, something remembered. It might just make you interesting. It will certainly make you fulfilled. And by creating your own memories, you will always have something to share with the rest of us." (p. 214)

'We weigh and we question, we work the angles and list the pros and cons, while we move one step up and two back toward actually taking action. We delude ourselves that we are doing our due diligence when mostly we are just treading water in a perfectly heated pool of laziness, comfort and fear. You can't study the map forever. At some point it's time to start walking; there is only so much daylight." (p. 245)

...one of the gifts of having children is that they offer the ability to see your long-gone young self as you look upon them." (p. 248)

"Life is unpredictable and has very different plans for all of us. There will be heroism and tragedy; each new day has the promise of both. Learning to live in (and accept) that dichotomy provides the adrenaline to always move ahead and be grateful for what we have." (p. 253)

...more

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