Customer Reviews

Promises I Made My Mother

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"Character is all you have in the dark" is my favorite quote from "Promises I Made My Mother"! This chapter alone is worth the read! What a gift and a challenge this book is to all parents, men and women-especially, single mothers trying to teach values to their young men in
this compromising world. Haskell throughout the book engages the reader on a journey of choices and decisions he made all based on lessons learn early in life from his mother. The stories and examples given, run the gambit of emotions. Some made me cry and some made me laugh out loud--all good!!
Great to know there are still good men in this world who can make it to the top. To quote Haskell, "We must look in the mirror often, both literally and figuratively,and have the strength of character to be honest with ourselves about what we see. Otherwise our lives become compromised and we are left forever incomplete."
Don't miss this delightful and worthwhile book!

I just LOVED this book. Once I started, I did not put it down until I had finished it, at which point I felt as if Sam was an old friend, having told me his stories over a glass of wine instead of my having read them. What a lucky man to have had a mother who instilled such values in her son, and what an inspiration to me, a mother of two. I have already read many passages from the book to my children, and will continue to remind them daily of the importance of good character. I find myself telling them more often now how special they are and how their dreams can be achieved, no matter how great. This book will make you laugh out loud and cry until your tears have run dry. I will read it again and again; it's that kind of book.

Promises I Made My Mother is everything I expected it to be and more. I met Sam Haskell just two years ago after having heard about him from a number of people. Everyone said he was one special man - generous and open-hearted. They were right. After reading Promises, I've come to understand what has motivated him to be the kind of human being people want to emulate. I was warmed by his love and admiration for his mother who was so influential in his life. The lessons contained in his book about integrity, honesty, hard work and following your heart are universal and the celebrity quotient makes Promises an engaging and entertaining read. I couldn't put it down! Penny Pearlman, author of award winning Pretty Smart: Lessons From Our Miss Americas

Great book! If everyone raised their children as Sam's mother raised him, the world would be a much better place. Here's to good old fashioned values!

Imagine that someday, one of my two sons writes a book about the lessons I instilled as a Mother. This book gave me so much to think about and reminded me that raising children is so much more then just keeping them safe and healthy! The fact that a man immersed in the shark infested waters of Hollywood could have so much character and moral strength and see the direct connection to his Mother's life lessons is both encouraging and inspiring. Sometimes we forget that our boys are, in fact, listening to what we say and watching what we do. This book made me want to take an extra moment to talk to my boys about the everyday decisions they will face as they go out into the world. I can only hope that they have paid attention to me as Sam payed attention to the words and deeds of his loving Momma.

Just how DOES a single mother raise a boy into a young man in today's world? I picked up the book thinking here is a successful guy that had a positive relationship with his mom -what did she do right?
Little did I know that I held a compass for guiding my own 10 year old through these early years. I never imagined the impact I had in my child's life until Promises. I want him to "shine in the light" and I am going to help him get there. An important read for single moms.

I found Sam Haskell's "Promises I Made My Mother" just flat out wonderful! Written with grace and skill, it is a joy to read, highly inspirational and makes you feel great/re-assured that people like Mr. Haskell still exist in the world.

I don't normally read these kinds of books because they oftentimes come off preachy or saccharine, but Sam Haskell has a great knack for distilling his mother's simple-yet-sage wisdom and relating how living in her image has brought him professional and personal happiness. The book also reads like a love story to not only his mother, but his family, friends and faith and is a real page-turner with so many amazing stories and anecdotes from his extraordinary life.

I think this book will really resonate with people and provide a wonderful inspirational support mechanism and blueprint for living a principled life. Thank you Sam Haskell (and mom Mary Kirkpatrick Haskell) for sharing your wonderful vision with the world. It proves that the good guy can win in the end!

i applaud mr. haskell on a magical, memorable and wonderful book. he has taken the life lesson's his darling mother expressed to him throughout his growing up years and truly put them to work--both in his personal life and his professional life. from the moment i began reading this incredible book, i regretted the closer i came to it's end. very rarely do you find such a book about a man, his character and his faith that leaves one wanting just one more chapter...and then...just another! (wishful thinking)

mr. haskell has realized the american dream by "staying in his light" (living truthfully to himself)...he has had the most incredible exchanges with some of the most incredible people in the entertainment business over his years at william morris....and has kept them as friends! he has kept his faith at the center of his life in a town that God is often prayed to for "things" and then God is often forgotten about when Sunday rolls around. he honors his mother by keeping her lessons alive each and every day....all this while also honoring the "man in the mirror" and not losing sight of his dream, his potential nor his passion!

i have passed this book on to my youngest daughter, she will pass it on to my husband and then it will be sent to my wonderful parents....i have recently purchased three additional copies...one for each of our other two children and one for a dear friend who, i know, will be as touched with each page as i was!

do yourself a favor...RUN, don't walk to your nearest bookstore, purchase this book and start reading....i think it will be the most discussed, thought about and heartwarming book you will read this summer!

Sam Haskell is "one of a kind"--how did a little boy from Mississippi get the guts to BELIEVE, in himself, in his dreams, in his God and his country and reach the pinnacle of success in the heartless world of Hollywood? Hard work and a mother who believed in him with her whole heart. But unlike so many of us today, this woman didn't "protect" her son FROM experience. No matter how painful, she instilled in him the knowledge that painful experiences can not only be survived through understanding but through applying that knowledge, he could be made stronger. She expected SO MUCH of him and that's the lesson in this beautiful book for me. Expect little of your children and you'll get little. By expecting her son to always be his best self, she set the stage for him to be a total success--not just by the world's standards...but by her own. And Mine. This book speaks to the power of love and the hope it inspires in our children and in all of us. Plus, I loved hearing all the "dirt" on the behind-the-scenes Hollywood stuff! Never once did Sam Haskell disappoint me. I know his mother must be so proud.

I enjoyed reading Sam Haskell's book. It was always interesting to see who he would "introduce" me to next.