Customer Reviews

What I Learned When I Almost Died

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

All book reviews are always subjective, and even though an event that brings the fear of death or disability into the life of any human being, whether a homeless person or a young man living a charmed life in the public's eye as an executive producer for a national TV show is poignant... the review... for the benefit of potential readers should never be sugar coated. I have written over five hundred Amazon reviews and I normally adhere to one of the guidelines regarding not commenting on other people's reviews, but in this case, I feel I need to for the benefit of potential readers... and that's the one other early "lonely" reviewer who commented on the author's "name dropping and ego"... because that is the exact impression I was left with. I might also add that I am a grateful, blessed, *BRAIN-TUMOR-SURVIVOR* who in addition to the fear of dying or being disabled by the brain tumor itself... almost died from unforeseen complications during the surgery which involved bleeding in the brain during the tumor removal.

This is an extremely, extremely, short book with 5" x 7" pages and only 165 of those, and most of those pages are filled with name droppings that ranged from Joe Scarborough to Vice President Joe Biden to Jeff Zucker, President and CEO of NBC Universal. In fact Biden used his "influence" to get his preferred Doctor assigned to Licht. The average reader, especially, anyone who has personally gone through medical traumas such as his brain hemorrhage or much, much worse... will not be impressed with all the cars and limos that are made available at no charge of course to Licht. Additionally the author (in my opinion) never fully details the horror of ordeals such as MRI's which to most people are just words... until you're locked inside one. Also, strangely lackluster are the "goodbyes" and hopes and wishes that are shared and expressed with loved ones when you don't know if tonight is your last night... and if perchance you make it through to the next day... if you'll even be able to communicate with your loved ones... or be a mind locked within a body. That was my biggest fear.

In summary, if a potential reader is simply looking for a pampered, elite, person, who faced a health problem, this fits the bill. If you or someone you love is going through... about to go through... or has been through... or facing the prospects... of something that is life threatening and unknown... such as brain tumor surgery or related items... there are hundreds of books out there better suited for such a reality.

For the first few chapters of this book, it seemed that the author was setting up what a self-involved, name dropping, arrogant person he was so that later on he could reveal his enormous changes. By the end of the book the only major change is that instead of eviscerating his co-workers or taxi drivers to their faces, he passive-aggressively lays out his litany of complaints in a book published by Simon and Schuster. Congrats? To his own admission, even his own family was disappointed that his life-altering incident didn't prove to be more life altering. While this event could produce an interesting and inspiring story in the hands of the right person, don't expect to find it in this book.

A fascinating story of how one's life can turn on a dime; and what one can do and learn when it does. Thought-provoking and thoughtful, by turns scary, tender, funny and smart, "What I Learned...." is a must-read for anyone who needs to reset their priorities or redouble their efforts to really LIVE RIGHT NOW (and don't we all?!?)

If there's one thing you have to give Chris Licht credit for, it's honesty. Very few people would feel comfortable writing about being self-absorbed, paranoid, and chronically distracted. As I flipped through the pages of this book that is refreshingly well-written and captivating, I found myself raising my eyebrows as the author described how he chewed out coworkers and was unable to fully appreciate the arrival of his first born son.

Most of the first half of the book chronicles the details of the Licht's mysterious brain bleed and the emotional roller coaster that he endures as he gradually understands the seriousness of his situation. Eventually, Chris' famous coworkers (TV's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski) enter the picture and word gets out to family and friends that this always healthy and hard driving guy is suddenly undergoing catscans and having contrast dye injected through a catheter inserted into his leg and threaded all the way up to the brain.

Ultimately, the book is about the author's vulnerability during a medical crisis and about how he is is moved by how many people were willing to rally to his support. True, the book spends some time dropping names like Joe Biden and Mike Barnicle and maybe not quite enough time talking about the folks you haven't heard mentioned on cable news, but that's probably just a reflection of the world that Licht lives in. The reader gets the impression that these people are just part of his everyday life as a television producer.

Maybe the most touching aspect of the book is how Licht describes his family - his stoic mother who initially urged him to go to the emergency room; his calm-in-the-face-of-adversity father who, as a doctor, understood exactly what type of danger his son faced; his two young children that he says he would "kill" for; and especially his wife Jenny who seems to deserve more credit than anyone for helping to change the way he views his life. In the best chapter of the book (appropriately titled "Jenny"), Licht practically gushes as he describes how he was willing to give up his news production career in California to move to New York. He does an exceptional job of describing how proud he is of how Jenny handled everything without falling apart. The reader has a picture perfect image of a young pregnant woman sitting alone on a train to Washington D.C. having left her two year-old behind with a babysitter in New York. In a way, "What I Learned When I Almost Died" is a love letter to Jenny within the larger story.

So what did Chris Licht learn when he almost died? It's not spelled out in neat bullet points, but the book does a nice job of describing how an intense (and maybe even unlikable) person becomes aware of his shortcomings and begins to gain perspective. Licht is honest when he says that it didn't all happen overnight, but the changes are subtle. You also get the impression that he continues to learn from his experience each day.

This is a very short story written on 5x7 pages with plenty of white space (large margins and space and a half between lines). If you have an interest in the author's episode with near death, view the Charlie Rose TV episode for all you need to know.

The author should be applauded for his honesty and for the compelling picture he creates. This isn't just a story about a busy TV producer. It's also a love story about how someone can change for the people they care most about. The author's faults are something all readers can all identify with and his personal growth and health are things all readers will celebrate.

After having gone through the exact same medical experience last year( but with very different care I might add) I thought this book might enlighten me to make changes that I honestly haven't done. It didn't. While it was interesting to see written all about the pain, tests and fear of waiting for your head to explode that I felt it was more like a group thank you card.
It is well written but I'm not sure anyone will learn anything. I myself just got on with life as I felt lucky to be able to and sent personal thank you's to the people that reached out to my family.

I love Chris Licht, and the Morning Joe crew. I knew the basic's about the story. The begining started out well then the book fell apart. This book was like eating chinese food - you wanted it, you dreamed about how it would taste, you enjoyed it but not as much as you thought you would, three hours later you're still hungry and wondering why you ate it.

Anyone who is not employed in NYC or in the fast track arena, may not appreciate the raw honesty of the author (young) Chris Licht. Since early childhood, he was producing and presenting the "family news and weather" in a makeshift home studio. With that in mind, Chris presents himself as an ambitious producer who has realized that people matter most. The unadulterated feelings he exposes after the near tragic brain bleed, show that Chris HAS had a major paradigm shift to what really matters in life. Sure, as the executive producer of Morning Joe (the popular political talk show on MSNBC), he describes the love he receives from many well- known friends such as Vice President Joe Biden, but just as an example of the clientele he comes in contact with on a weekly basis. As the autobio, "What I Learned When I Almost Died" unfolds, the reader begins to sense that Chris is not just a hard core NYC executive, but also a caring father, husband, son, and friend. This emotional story is a brief, but ultimately most terrifying vignette, that most of us will hopefully never have to experience. I highly recommend "What I Learned When I Almost Died", especially to anyone who wishes to understand not to sweat the "small stuff", because it really just is just all small stuff"...Albert

Picked this off the library shelf never having heard anything about it. Not knowing what to expect I was swept into the drama of Chris Licht's medical emergency. I learned deeply important, life-affirming lessons from this book. The one lesson that stands out for me is that he counted himself as truly blessed when his friends rushed to his aid during his life threatening illness and showed how much they loved him. Twenty years ago I was in a similar situation, in the hospital for eight days. The doctors didn't know what was causing my unrelenting and intense pain. Friends and friends of friends came to visit me. I was barely aware they were there, but their love and concern was what truly brought me back to health. I feel this was a book-long thank you letter to all the friends and family of Chris LIcht from his forever grateful heart.