"My outlook on life is not about finding oneself, but about creating our best self through striving for advancement."
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Life Is by Patrick Hamilton Walsh Trafford Publishing
book review by Lee Ware
Written more like journal entries or a scrapbook, Life Is is a self-help book very much focused on the impressive accomplishments of the author. Under the premise of the goals Walsh set for himself as a sixteen-year-old boy, the book goes on to outline what he was able to achieve and how he achieved it. The introduction of the book tends to be the most informative as far as giving insight into bettering one's life. Afterwards, the book is divided into ten sections, which seem to lay out various aspects of life such as, "Family is the only thing that really matters" or "Exploring the Weird and Wonderful is vital to expanding our minds." Each of these sections is further divided into smaller sections, which start out with a paragraph to a couple pages of introduction followed by a checklist the author created. Each item is either checked off with a brief description of the action or left unchecked signifying the author's desire to complete it in the future. This list often last for pages.
Because the majority of the book ends up being a detailed checklist, it can read a little self-congratulatory by the well-meaning author. What is meant to inspire, reads more like a glorified to-do list, which gets a bit tedious at times. However, it is Walsh's positivity and enthusiasm for life that make this format work. By the end of the book, the author describes how most of the things he has wanted in life involved something he wanted to do or have and then makes the distinction that true happiness lies in just being, rather than doing. The last section of his book brings this sentiment home with lists of qualities he'd like to acquire to be a better person and charities he would like to bestow upon others. By the end of the book, Walsh seems to have evolved into a more centered and self-aware young man.