Literacy Blog #1 - part 2

Literacy Blog #1 – part 2

My novel I’m reading at the moment is called “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch. It’s about the author, Randy’s last lecture he is going to give before he passes away. He isn’t old per say, but he is sick. He has terminal cancer, pancreatic to be exact, with ten tumors in his liver (the cancer spread) and he only has months to live. Throughout this book it talks about the topics he spoke about in his lecture. He talks about his childhood memories and dreams, how they aren’t impossible to reach and how dreaming big isn’t always impossible. The book is split into five parts; five different sections of his lecture. The Last Lecture, Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, Adventures… And Lessons Learned, Enabling The Dreams Of Others and my favorite section, It’s About How To Live Your Life. These sections all have words of wisdom and stories which make you laugh, cry and think. My favourite section, It’s About How To Live Your Life, are a collection of suggestions and advice,  giving people a few words of wisdom about how to make every moment memorable and enjoyable, ranging from dreaming big, making deals, getting people’s attention, and the lost art of thank-you notes. This book have definitely given me a new look on different aspects in life and has shown me even in the darkest sad moments of time there is always a silver lining on the darkest cloud.

My main character is Randy Pausch, born October 23, 1960 and died July 25, 2008. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University for computer science and human-computer interaction. He often mentions stories of his job and what many of them have become, speaking with the highest praise for all of them. His parents are spoken of highly in his book, saying he won ‘the parent lottery’ often thanking him for what he became in the future. He was married to his wife Jai and they have three kids, Dylan, Logan, and Chloe. He often speaks of how this book will be his way of giving advice and wisdom to his kids even after he’s gone. Randy seems to never have a negative attitude towards his condition, saying “we cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand”. He doesn’t keep the fact he has terminal cancer a secret, mentioning in the book the “elephant in the room” and how even though people don’t want to mention it, the fact is right there and we all know it’s the topic hanging over everyone’s head.  He’s always positive, managing to find the silver lining in everything. He’s often very blunt, saying you have to be when teaching in his field of work, when his students seem to think they are the smartest ones there. He’s quite witty and has some really good insight to life’s troubles. He was around average high, with dark brown eyes, thick eyebrows and a smile which seems to make you think he doesn’t have a care in the world. Randy is a guy who I don’t think can be portrayed in a movie, because he’s a soul who can’t be portrayed by someone else. He truly is one of a kind.

The setting for this book is in Virginia, the Pausch family moving there to be close to Jai’s family after Randy’s passing. Randy often speaks about his life and colleagues back in their old home town of Pittsburgh, speaking of how in the middle of this tragic event they still decided to uproot themselves and move, even with cancer treatments and a book to write. This book was written in the time frame of when he first found out he had cancer to becoming a New York Times bestseller on April 28, 2008. The book is based on the lecture he gave on September 18, 2007, titled The Last Lecture; Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. He speaks of how he missed Pittsburgh but he wanted to be able to provide some kind of support for his family after he was gone, often speaking of how his decision may not have been at an ideal time but he wanted to think long term and know his wife and children would have some family to support them even after he was gone. Randy Pausch seems to be a once in a lifetime kind of guy. I wish I could have met him, gotten advice and shared a laugh, but I can’t. I can however carry on his words by reflecting them in my life. Thank you Randy for a beautiful book and may you rest in peace.