Customer Reviews

A Reason to Believe: Lessons from an Improbable Life

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Governor Patrick's quintessential Horatio Alger story qualifies him as a genuine embodiment of America's best virtues. Raised by a single mother in Chicago's storied south side, his natural gifts and hearty determination led him through an elite education to a career fighting for those who can't fight for themselves. Moving from activism, to government, to corporate life, to elective office, he has kept his composure while fighting for his beliefs.

This memoir smacks a bit of a political autobiography; betcha the Governor plans to run for Senate in 2012. But considering what snoozers most political autobiographies are, Patrick infuses his with energy and humor. He doesn't blush to admit he didn't like his father growing up, and that he struggled to keep one foot in his heritage while studying in prestigious East Coast schools. He doesn't make himself a saint.

I wish Patrick added certain details in his life. For instance, he mentions first meeting Bill Clinton when they squared off during a lawsuit. What was it, and how did they reconcile? But he never mentions the incident again. Similarly, he discusses deceased parents and mentors in greater detail than living family and colleagues. His past is very detailed, his present more vague. Whose toes is he avoiding treading on?

But that's the genre. Patrick is selling his life lessons for true believers, not writing a celebrity tell-all. Despite genre limitations, I found myself eagerly devouring this book. Patrick tells a lively, spirited story, making his accomplishments sing while keeping himself at human scale. You could imagine yourself sitting down to coffee with him, sharing stories of life accomplishments and goals. I bet you'd be glad for that cuppa, too.

Patrick's autobiography, "A Reason to Believe," is more engaging than most of the genre. While he was inclined to do well academically, his growing up in Chicago's South Side to a poverty-line family wouldn't point to a foundation for future success. His parents divorced early in his life, and he was raised by emotionally distant parents and grandparents. Yet his stunning success as an individual reaffirms the American dream.

Deval Patrick's life journey also provides more proof that the love and support of family and friends is indispensable to a child's future. Patrick's mother worked herself to the bone to put her children through summer camps and prep schools, and perceptive teachers picked up on the bright possibilities of a young man growing up in the wrong part of Chicago. The lessons taken from Patrick's younger years have permanently imbued him with a deep sense of social justice and a desire to leave the world a better place than when he first found it.

These themes recur throughout "A Reason to Believe." The current Massachusetts governor recounts defending Civil Rights Era activists from trumped up charges and calling to voters' higher aspirations in a gubernatorial campaign that served as the prototype for Obama's 2008 campaign. Patrick's story of a life many would have dismissed as improbable, with its many disappointments, heartbreaks and successes, is as American as any other.

I am skeptical of books by politicians. Most of them aren't memoirs at all but transparently cynical attempts to promote either of the party's beliefs. (If something has HEART or AMERICA in the title - run the other way). But Deval Patrick's memoir is something altogether different - meaning it is a truly heartfelt, American story implicitly, not explicitly. In only 200-plus pages, he reflects on a journey that took him from the South Side of Chicago to Milton Academy, a prep school outside of Boston, and then onto Harvard, government, the private sector, before he launched his successful run for the Massachusetts governorship (he is in his second term now).

Why would I care? I don't even live in Massachusetts! And i don't know much of anything about the governor's record on this or that. Doesn't matter. What Governor Patrick does here most "real" writers would be jealous of: he writes simply and passionately about the people who have helped him along the way - whether it was the teacher who identified his gifts early on in school - to the mentors who helped him along his way in high school and in college and in later life. Everyone I know had SOMEONE who gave them a leg up at a certain point in their lives. Patrick admits he was fortunate enough to have had several. Patrick's recollections of them - of the people who had no idea at the time that they were creating a life this amazing - are moving. As is this book.

This is a book about taking advantage of chance when it crosses your path - about living many lives in only 5 decades - about a rare individual who wants to do good and to change our culture for the better. It is no wonder he and President Obama are close friends. Both men are change agents who believe in hope. I would recommend this book HIGHLY to anyone....

I've had this book for a month or two now and I kept glancing at it, browsing through a couple pages and then putting it down. The problem with books about politicians is sometimes they can be so dry and so heavy on the legal aspect and then really clipped about the personal aspect. Then there are the tell-alls about politicians that I simply don't want to read; I just don't want to know every single detail about a politician and what he/she does behind closed doors. But I finally decided to give the book a shot and read it. And I LOVED it. Governor Deval Patrick had the perfect balance of personal information and professional information. The anecdotes were fascinating. Even when he went into his personal life with his wife's background, his father's background and his own background, it was done in such a way that we learned more about him instead of it sounding like he was snitching on everybody. This is the best way to tell a personal story--to make readers understand how it connects to that central character.

I found his struggle between his father and himself about what's black enough to stand out, mainly because I think this is a struggle with anyone who decides to excel in education, encourage diversity, doesn't feel the need to talk/walk/act a certain way because their peers are doing it, and seems confident in who they are as people. I totally respected him standing up for himself.

To be perfectly honest (and slightly embarrassed), I'd never heard of Governor Deval Patrick. I didn't follow his campaign, but that's precisely why I wanted to read the book, to find out why I didn't know anything about him and correct that. I think that probably helped the read. I didn't have any grudges, prejudices or biased support for him--I went into the read as a newbie. I found his childhood, adulthood, campaigning, and his experiences with other politicians (yes, I'm referring to Pres. Barack Obama, too) to all be interesting. It may sound bad, but his experiences in Africa made me less enthusiastic about visiting. Maybe I'll change my mind later on, but it sounded like he had a rough time getting around (especially at that airport waiting for his mother--not cool at all).

The only con I have is that he talked about how he helped Pres. Barack Obama during the presidential campaign. However, readers are lead to believe that Pres. Obama helped him become governor. The problem is that besides the president saying "I'm in, what do you want me to do?" and suggesting to talk to senators even though it was too early to do so, we never found out what Pres. Obama actually did to help Governor Patrick. However, Governor Patrick gave many details about how he helped Pres. Obama, what he told him to say during speeches and how the president even took notes FROM him. I wanted to see it vice versa, especially considering the photo on Chapter 8 of him so there seemed to be an obvious influence there. Maybe he left it out on purpose. I'm not sure, but that was my only disappointment. Other than that, highly recommended.

As a NH and Mass resident growing up along side Deval Patrick, I witnessed some of those "do-gooder" programs of the scholarship initiatives and "A Better Chance." I witnessed some of the failures along the way. I listened to the conservative critics. But I kept believing that given a chance, as Obama likes to say "a hand up," greatness can happen. Patrick tells his story of moving from poverty in South Chicago to second term governor in Massachusetts with clarity, with frankness, insight and engaging perspective. As our governor, his work has been just and so often his speeches and words touch my heart. Should all children have a loving support system and opportunities that brought him to this (if I may?) Cinderella Story? Absolutely! And he would tell you, there's no reason why they can't.
I am joyfully looking forward to his future use of his brilliance.

This is a WONDERFUL absorbing memoir, heartwarming, encouraging and life affirming. Governor Patrick writes simply, movingly and sometimes humorously of the people and experiences that helped him become the caing and steadfastly idealistic person he is today. I loved his writing about the small everyday kindnesses that have graced his life, the goodhearted people who reached out to him when he was young, and the mentoring of young people that he in turn does today. I loved his account of his year abroad as a young nman traveling around Africa, and how often he, as an outsider,was touched by "simple kindness of strangers". I was also particulary impressed by his description of the generosity and kindness of the older ladies who were the backbone of the church he attended as a child. And by his description of, as a young boy, hearing Rev.Dr. King speak, and beginning to understand the vital impoortance of hope and idealism, both to ourselves as individuals and communities, and in public life. There is very little of the overtly political in this book; it will be loved by people of every nationality faith and political persuasion. It is one of those books that you love so much that you want to give a copy to everyone you know!

An exciting and insightfull adventure, Governor Patrick describes his journey from Chicago's south side to the Massachusetts Governors office. There are many important life lessons shared in the book, however those of you looking for a more political/public policy read will not find it here.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. I was amazed at what Governor Patrick was able to accomplished in his life against what would be considered great odds.

I just finished this book, and I loved it! Governor Patrick shares his remarkable life in a way that is both relatable and inspirational. What stuck with me most is how he kept coming back to the lessons that he learned from the older ladies at his grandmother's church in Chicago. These women showed him that how you treat others is far more important than what you profess to believe. With his academic and professional background, Governmor Patrick could well pursue a different course, one that focuses on the acquisition of wealth and material things, but he speaks in a very compelling way about his commitment to social justice.

Governor Patrick shares the highs and lows of his life including details about his sometimes difficult relationship with his father and his struggles to pass the California bar and, even more remarkably, his wife allowed him to share her own struggle with depression which ocurred shortly after he became governor.

Far from some idealized tale about pulling yourself up your bootstraps, Governor Patrick shares a story about someone who was given great opportunities and worked hard to create the life that he wanted while trying to help others along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Readers who are weary of the nastiness of politics and desire a break can find a feel-good story in Deval Patrick's memoir, A Reason to Believe: Lessons from an Improbable Life. In just over two hundred pages, Massachusetts Governor Patrick reflects on the twists and turns of his life and the friendship, faith and perseverance that has brought him to where he is today. Patrick writes in a conversational style and the story he tells will engross most readers, especially those who are tired of political mudslinging.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)