Motivation

Everyone ponders the question, "What does it take to be successful?"  In the memoir, The Secret To Success, Eric Thomas answers this question.  Today, Eric Thomas uses his skills to motivate and inspire others through his speeches.  He travels all around talking to athletes, students, and many other types of people about how to achieve success.  He strives to motivate others to put in the effort to become successful.  "It's one thing to talk about your destiny but it is another thing to make the decisions necessary to actualize that destiny."

Phil Jackson, a former NBA basketball player and coach, wrote Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success.  His memoir is truly inspirational.  He won a total of eleven NBA titles as coach, two NBA titles as a player, coached the USA Olympic basketball team, and is considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of NBA. In 2011 he was diagnosed with cancer.  Despite this devastation, he continued to be there for his team, coaching them to success.  Phil Jackson is never short of wise words, "Wisdom is always an over match for strength."  Another wise quote from Phil Jackson is, "Always keep an open mind and a compassionate heart."  Phil Jackson loved coaching basketball.  He instilled hard work in his players, but also character.

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother is a memoir written by James McBride.  James McBride was one of twelve kids.  He explains his struggle of finding his identity as a black boy with a white mother.  Growing up he would ask his mother questions about the differences in their skin color, yet each time she would tell him not to worry about it.  In his memoir, there are many things that are truly inspiring.  First of all, he says that from failure, it is important to learn lessons.  He also explains that people will always have something you think is better than what you have.  Finally, he also says, "No one can be you better than you."  Throughout his memoir, he truly explores what it is like to live life as you and nobody other than you.  

A Positive Outlook

Sometimes the positive outlook people have on life makes it difficult to believe what they have been through.  After hearing about the memoir, A Stolen Life, it became evident that Jaycee Dugard was one of these people.  At just eleven years old, Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped and help captive in a destroyed backyard for eighteen years.  Her memories are often fragmented and incomplete as she had a difficult time keeping track of the days, months, and years.  She constantly felt scared and alone.  It is extremely hard to imagine the suffering and pain she was going through.  Despite of the tough times are traumatizing experiences that Jaycee Dugard went through, she has such a positive outlook on life.  It is amazing to think that after something as horrifying as this experience that someone could go about life with such a positive attitude.  In a video, Jaycee Dugard says, "Life's adventure is important.  It is important to live life to its fullest every day."  It is inspiring to see the immensely positive outlook that Jaycee Dugard has on life, living life to its fullest each and every day.  

Although many times in life it is difficult to realize, the intangible things are the things that truly matter.  The memoir Marley & Me truly displays the true meaning of love and happiness.  This memoir written by John Grogan is a heartwarming story of him and his wife who get a dog assuming that it would be great practice of responsibility before having a child.  However, turns out Marley is much more than they bargained for.  Marley destroys their house, is expelled from obedience school, and eats just about everything, including a gold necklace.  Despite Marley's crazy behavior, his endless love and devotion outweigh all.  He was there with the Grogan's through all the tough times.  Marley taught the Grogans an endless amount of lessons, from devotion and love, to helping them realize what really matters in life.  Through this book, John Grogan uses the lessons he learned from Marley to share with all of his readers.  "Grogan tells a simple story of one family's life, a mostly typical family.  But he does it so beautifully and the reader is drawn in by his voice until you become a part of his tale, shaking your head at Marley, laughing at his next indiscretion, delighting in his high points and worrying when things aren't going well.  You'll understand the gift that Marley was to this family...Grogan has crafted a loving but unsentimental memory of his dog and what he meant to him, his wife and his children.  And that's his gift to us." -The Birmingham News

The Things We Don't See

Throughout life, there are a countless number of things that we do not realize and see.  From something as simple as someone being bullied, to the difficulties and tragedies happening in other countries.  After hearing about the book A Long Way Gone, I learned something that I had never heard about before, child soldiers in Sierra Leone.  In this memoir by Ishmael Beah he explains his struggles and hardships as a child soldier.  One of his main reasons for writing his memoir was to raise awareness about the issue that is many times overseen and unknown by many.  He is currently a spokesperson for Unicef and is constantly trying to put a stop to child soldiers.  In his memoir he says, "Killing people had become as easy as drinking water."  It is crazy to think children as young as five are being put through traumatizing experiences such as these to this day.  Although it is very difficult to put this into perspective,  the things that are occurring in Sierra Leone are horrifying.  It is something so unseen by so many people, yet something that is all the children in Sierra Leone know.

It is hard to believe that war is still so prevalent all around the world today.  Hearing about the memoir The Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrel, it becomes evident that war is a constant struggle and a harsh, devastating battle.  The title speaks for itself, The Lone Survivor.  Marcus Luttrel along with three others (Danny Dietz, Mike Murphy, and Matt Axelson) are sent on "Operation Red Wing" in the Hindu Kush Mountains to capture the notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shahd.  After a long, hard, devastating battle, Marcus Luttrel came out as the lone survivor.  It is difficult to imagine being in this situation, however, Marcus Luttrel explains his experience and journey at war in his memoir.