WHO WILL CRY WHEN YOU DIE by Robin Sharma: A Book Review

WHO WILL CRY WHEN YOU DIE by Robin Sharma: A Book Review

Genre: Self-help/motivational/non-fiction

Publication Date: 1999

Publishing Company: Harper Collins

Background: This was the third book written by the author in the series The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.

Who is Robin Sharma?

Canadian, A former lawyer, he quit his job and now considered to be one of the top 5 leadership experts in the world. His work is embraced by rock stars, royalty, billionaires and many celebrity CEOs.

Robin's books on Leadership and peak performance at work have sold over 15,000,000 copies in 75+ Countries.

His  book ,”The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”  is the 5th best selling book in the history of Israel. It has been on India's Top 10 bestseller list of over 2 years. Robin's books have been the fastest selling books in Turkish publishing history. His books have also been blockbusters in Japan, England, Dubai, Mexico, Singapore, Puerto Rico and throughout South America, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Serbia, Romania, Russia and Sweden.

Robin's runaway bestseller “The Leader Who Had No Title” was the #1 Business book on amazon.com

Review:

The book is basically divided into 101 short chapters. The language used was simple and clear. Each chapter discusses tip on how to live life to the fullest. For every chapter, Robin injects quotes from some of his favorite authors and inspirational speakers/people like Bruce Lee, Og Mandino, James Allen and Napoleon Hill. He then gives his personal views and experiences.  Through this book, I’ve met great people in his journey and by his recommendations, I’ve downloaded some of their books.       

This book revealed how dedicated, bookish and passionate Robin is into helping and inspiring people. However, I’ve read many self-help books to confirm that this book only added a few pointers to what I learned from others. 

Here’s what I highlighted:

1.      Three Gate Test. The ancient sages would only speak if the words they were about to utter passed three gates. At the first gate, they would ask themselves, Are these words truthful? If so, the words could then pass on to the second gate. At the second gate, they sages asked, “Are these words necessary?” If so, they would then pass on to the third gate, where they would ask, Are these words kind?

2.      The real value of setting and achieving goals lies not in the rewards you receive but in the person you become as a result of achieving your goals. 

3.      Knowledge is not power.  Knowledge is only potential power. It transforms itself into actual power the moment you decisively act on it. 

4.      It helps to write down half a dozen things which are worrying me. Two of them, they disappear, about two, nothing can be done, so it is no use worrying and tow perhaps can be settled. – Bruce Lee

5.      There has never been a more exciting time to be alive in history of the world and you have the choice to seize the boundless possibilities that every day presents.

6.      Think thoughts no one else is thinking. You cannot have all that you want if you remain the person you are. To get more from life, you need to be more in life.

I think this book needed more stories or testimonies from other people. And the title is perhaps not suited for the contents.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Turtles all the way down by John Green: A Book Review

Turtles all the way down by John Green: A Book Review

Genre: Young Adult, psychological

Publication Date: 2017

Setting: Indianapolis

Characters: Aza Holmes, Daisy, Davis, Mychal, Aza’s Mom, Dr. Singh (psychiatrist)

Summary:

This is  a story about Aza and her spiraling thoughts coupled with her OCD. She has high anxiety especially with germs to the point that kissing made her swallow sanitizer. She always thinks that she’ll be infected with the bacteria Clostridium difficile. She has the habit of pressing her right thumbnail into the finger pad of her middle finger. She covers it up with band-aid but when she is worried, she drains it by reopening the wound and pressing out any blood that will come. 

Her best friend’s name is Daisy, a star wars fanatic and a fan fiction author. She is a working student, her family is not well-off, and later on, convinced Aza to find David Pickett, Sr. the billionaire fugitive for there’s a reward of 100,000 dollars waiting. 

Aza and Davis Jr had a past; they joined the Sad Camp together when they lost one of their parents. Aza knew about the night vision camera since she used to play in Davis’ house when they were young. Aza and Daisy had one information to tell the police but Davis gave them 100,000 dollars in exchange of their silence. 

Aza and Davis fell for one another, Mychal and Daisy , too. Aza and Daisy got into an accident because of an argument about Daisy referencing Aza in her fictional stories, that Aza was  a useless and pessimistic friend. Aza recovered, their friendship became stronger but their romantic relationships had a different ending.

Themes

Anxiety

Aza’s thoughts cannot be shut down. Through her character, we come to know how the mind of anxious people operates. It is something that cannot be controlled by themselves; it just spirals and spirals until it tightens and suffocates them. They think a lot, worry a lot and not care too much of their environment. It is like they are physically present but their mind is projected onto something else like in Aza’s case, the microbes swarming inside her. She doesn’t know where Daisy’s parents work in spite of their longtime friendship. This also means that anxiety makes a person be socially unaware because ot the pressure of their thoughts. Aza also relies on her late Dad’s old phone for emotional support. Aza has a psychiatrist named Dr. Singh but she does not take her medications . She feels like the medicine is making her worse.

Like all the characters of John Green, Aza exemplifies a young and smart woman. It’s just that she has a mental problem. However, this issue has made her more analytic and unique, in my own opinion.  The introspection and conversations between Aza and the other characters proved how intelligent and reflective she is.

Parent-child

Davis’ father ran away. Davis and his younger brother, Noah had always sought for a responsible father which they could never find from their own. Their riches were infinite but when it comes to the love and affection from their dad, it is nonexistent.

Their father neglected them and left all his riches to a tuatara, a reptile. Also, he never contacted his sons when he eloped.

Aza and her mom had a great relationship. Daisy and her parents, too. It only means that the treasure lies not on the wealth but the bond in a family.

Reflection

John Green’s most famous novel The Fault in Our Stars for me is overrated.  Both the book and movie did not distress or please me. I really think it was too soapy and mainstream. Secondly, I watched and read Paper Towns and I found it so much better. Turtles all the way down is not that I-will-not-sleep-until –I-finished-this book. That is both a compliment and a slur. 

Compliment. First, some of the conversations need to be digested; hence, the need to stop and rest. In order to fully immerse yourself into the story, you must not finish this book in one seating. You have to take your time because of its psychological essence. Reading the thoughts of Aza also makes you feel trapped in your own thoughts and may question your own mental health. For example, the characterization of Aza could make you feel like you are also suffering from anxiety disorder. Overthinking, high heart rate, feeling nervous or powerless, having sense of impending danger, panic attacks, feeling stuck and empty, and sleeplessness are some of the signs of anxiety. 

You can also associate yourself because of her line of thinking. Example, in the first chapter of the book. She said, Life is a story told about you, not one that you tell. You pretend to be the author but in reality, you are the canvas, not the painter. She felt that herself was not hers. IF you think about this, it is very debatable, philosophically speaking. The ‘free will’ is questionable.  Are we really creating our destiny or has it been planned by God or the cosmos? 

There are many thoughts of Aza that could be analyzed in detail. The short poems of Davis are also worthy of studying. He introduced his writing through a quote or a poem by a famous writer and then he associates it with his personal experience. All of these are profound and  deep. 

Slur. There was lack of suspense. Yes, the major conflict is internal but I just didn’t find any vibe with its turn of events. IF not for Aza and Davis, the whole story would have been plain and boring.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne: A Book Review

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne: A Book Review

Summary

This is a romance novel played by two executive assistants of a publishing company who hates each other but ends up kissing in an elevator and falling in love.

Lucinda or Lucy is the only daughter of strawberry farmers and her childhood dream is to be a publisher.  Joshua came from a family of doctors and his ex-girlfriend became the wife of his older brother. Joshua dropped out from med school after a year and took up business and his father never favored him, instead, focused on the eldest son, Patrick.

Joshua was described as perfection. Physically perfect but shy and timid when it comes to his father. Again, another story of man with personal issues. Lucy, on the other hand, does not have grave issues except for her retro fashion sense and a height of five feet.

Reaction

This is the debut novel of Sally Thorne. I am not impressed. The lines were not witty and there was minimal wordplay. It was light-hearted and cute and cool but not something that you can not put down.

I was not able to feel the intensity of their love and hatred, even. It’s really like a game, a childish game. It lives up to its title. Haha.

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover: A Book Review

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hover: A Book Review

Aug. 9 2018

I am familiar with the author’s name since I see it in a lot of bookstores. But when I saw the IG post of Lovi Poe and I quote, “Colleen Hoover is probably the reason why my standards of men are high,” I was really intrigued so I searched her name and watched book reviews in youtube and the rest is pretty much history.

I picked It Ends With Us first because the male protagonist is a neurosurgeon and you know how much I am obsessed with those kinds of characters. Lol

Summary

Lily came from an abusive household. Her father who is the town mayor and real-estate holder hits and rapes her mother but never got the courage to leave him. When he died, her mother asked her to deliver a eulogy but during her speech, Lily was not able to express five great things about her father because there was none.  Lily flew back to Boston and found a rooftop to vent her anger and that’s where she met Ryle, a driven, captivating and utterly successful neurosurgeon.

They had an honest conversation which they termed NAKED Truths. It was revealed then that Ryle wants to fuck Lily (that was his term. Haha)  in which she strongly rejected. During their talk, she mentioned her past and that she had sex with a homeless during her teenage years. Ryle almost kissed Lily if not for the phone call from work. After six months, they saw each other again through Alyssa, wife of Marshall (the bestfriend of Ryle) in her would-be flower shop.

They eventually dated but then in a restaurant, Lily saw Atlas, her first love, the homeless guy who turned out to be the restaurant owner and best chef in Boston. Atlas knew about her situation before so when he saw the cut on Lily he confronted her then Ryle showed up.

The next chapters were Ryle’s temper and how this affected their relationship. Ryle’s temper couldn’t be controlled so  he ended up hurting Lily physically. They were married back then. Ryle apologized and promised not to hurt her again but he broke it again and again. Reason? Jealousy.

Atlas rescued her after Ryle headbutted her. They soon found out that Lily was pregnant.

I thought Ryle would change himself and Lily would accept him again but Lily wanted a divorce after she gave birth.

After a year, they were separated and Lily met Atlas again.

Reaction

Characterization

I was disappointed with Ryle. You know when you are rooting for someone because he was projected as the perfect guy in the beginning and in the middle, he was so broken and pitiful and in the end, he was  just a pretty and smart-ass guy. Nobody wants to end up with someone like him, right? With Ryle’s character, we need not to rely on the good lucks and accomplishments. And a relationship must not be rushed most especially marriage. Don’t be like Lily. Get to know the person first. It takes time but it will save you a lot from heartaches and abuse.

Colleen is an expert in characterization. Her characters are dynamic and impressively human.

Social Issues

This story also made light on domestic violence. That you will never know how it feels when you’re in that same exact situation.  It’s easy to say ‘leave him’ but the emotions that were invested and the people  that will be affected would be more important than all the beatings.

And for this, eventhough the church does not approve of it, I am pro-annulment.

Why stay in a fucked-up marriage? You can raise children by yourself.

About the issue of homelessness. It’s also easy for us to judge them. Easy to say that they are lazy and that they should grind their ass; however, we do not  know the whole story to begin with. If we only put more action in being kind and compassionate, the world would be much better to live in.

Style

Her plot twists are insane. I like how she repeats some of the lines for impact and how she connects all the events. She is a master storyteller. She has simple writing but it is evident, how universal and poignant the emotions are.

Favorite Lines

“I am going to make a promise to you, when my life is good enough for you to be a part of it, I’ll come find you. But I don’t want you to wait around for me, because that might never happen.”

“People come in like waves, trickling in and out with the tide. Some waves are much bigger and make more of an impact than others.  Sometimes, waves bring with them things from deep in the bottom of the sea and they leave those thing tossed onto the shore. Imprints against the grains of sand that prove the waves had once been there, long after the tide recedes.”

“You make me want to be a different person but what if I don’t know how to be what you need?  I want to prove to you  that I want you for so much more than just one night.”

“All humans make mistakes. What determines a person’s character aren’t the mistakes we make. It’s how we take those mistakes and turn them into lessons rather than excuses.”

“I’ll  keep pretending to swim, when really all I’m doing is floating. Barely keeping my head above water.”