Find the Good: Unexpected Life Lessons From A Small-Town Obituary Writer is the latest book by Heather Lende. Lende lives and writes in Alaska, where she is the obituary writer for her small town’s weekly newspaper. If you read and enjoyed The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries by Marilyn Johnson, you may also enjoy Find the Good. I was also reminded of The Obituary Writer, a novel, by Ann Hood, that I have also previously reviewed here on the blog. Find the Good is a tidy, small book with a big heart. It’s emotional, warm, uplifting, and a quick read.
When Lende is asked to write a short essay on a piece of wisdom to live by what emerges is this small tome. In successive chapters with titles like “Don’t Judge A Lady By Her Hat” and “Make Your Own Good Weather,” Lende shares the heartwarming, often emotional life lessons that she has learned from the subjects of the obituaries she has written for her weekly newspaper. Each chapter’s title is that chapter’s life lesson distilled down to its pithy essence. The book’s title is itself the book’s overall theme and main life lesson: “find the good” in the world, in life, in the people you meet along the way, and in yourself. In addition to each chapter’s lesson, we also meet the good people, sometimes colorful characters, who inspired the chapter’s life lesson ruminations.
As the first review of the new year, I think this is good book to read at a time when so many may be struggling to keep new year resolutions. Read this book, and just resolve to find the good in your life.
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