Book 2, Post 2
My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem was a powerful book about topics that I didn’t know too much about. It was amazing to see Gloria’s more than 50 years of tireless working and traveling to fight for causes she believed in. She kept her writing relatively concise, and focused the majority of her book on recounting stories, which helped keep me engaged and interested as a reader. The sheer determination, persistence, and courage to continue fighting through the decades is enough to inspire anybody. Also throughout her story, Gloria includes many interesting bits of wisdom from her unique life, and I’ll explore some of my favorite ideas below.
One idea that Gloria explores is that “perhaps our need to escape into media is a misplaced desire for the journey.” Gloria spends most of her book as a proponent of the benefits of traveling and being on the road. This particular line really connected with me because I completely agree that my desire to be engrossed into a movie is me having the desire to go on an adventure, minus the effort and danger of real-life adventures.
Another cool idea is how similar Gloria is to her father (although this was never her intention), and how averse they both are to truly settling down and having a “regular job.” Although Gloria comes around to the idea much later in her life, it was amazing to see how she quit an early job of hers after being “expected to spend two days a week in the office.” This is the opposite of how I and probably most USC students operate, since I have appreciated from a young age the stability and relationships that come out of setting down deep roots in a place.
A third idea that’s interesting is “that the biggest determinant of our lives is whether we see the world as welcoming or hostile. Each becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.” I think people unknowingly putting self-fulfilling constraints on themselves is one of life’s biggest sabotages, and Gloria’s optimistic view of the world allowed her to remain positive through facing hatred and vitriol for decades.
Finally, a last idea that really stuck with me is one that Gloria emphasizes throughout her stories: “if you do anything people care about, people will take care of you.” As we prepare to graduate and move into our professional lives, it seems as if everything is about our own career advancement. Especially with her recounting of Wilma Mankiller stories, this statement is so evidently true, and it’s reassuring to see how rewarding being selfless and putting positive energy into the universe can be. Overall, this book contains a plethora of inspiring stories wrapped in an easily readable package filled with great life lessons throughout, and I highly recommend it.
Hi Ryan! I liked how you broke this review down into the ideas that resonated with you. I think that's a great way to write a review because it helps your readers get a good sense of what the book is about and what makes it special. This sounds like a great book to read and I appreciated how you outlined your general feelings about what you read in the first paragraph and outlined the rest of your review below.
ReplyDeleteWow, Ryan you wrote a very thoughtful and impressive book review. Like Kaitlyn, I appreciate you structuring your post around ideas that you found most impactful. I actually loved the book as well and may actually read some of her earlier writings!
ReplyDeleteHi Ryan, I never read the book, but from your post, I can tell that this is a book I would enjoy. I like how you talk about the four primary ideas from the book, and through that, it captures the audiences. It gave me a better understanding on the thesis for the book so thank you so much for sharing, and this is a great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Ryan, I like the way that you separated different ideas that you thought were important. It felt like a good summary of the book while still connecting it to yourself. I can definitely relate to your appreciation for stability and relationships that come from setting down roots. Nice work!
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