The Last Lecture

Andrew Wallace

Smith 2nd Period

The Last Lecture

Randy Pausch. The Last Lecture

Hyperion Books: 2008.

Heart

Own collection

Inspirational

206 pg.

A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture."  Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them.  And while they speak, audiences can't help but question, "What legacy will I leave when I die?"  For Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, he didn't have to imagine what his last lecture would be like, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  But his lecture wasn't about death, but about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment.  It was about living.

The story Randy Pausch tells takes place in a Carnegie Mellon lecture hall on September 7, 2007 titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams."  He combines humor, intelligence, and inspiration in explaining his life story and the dreams he achieved and didn't achieve along the way.  One of my favorite quotes that Pausch mentions in his book is that, "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."  This quote applies to everyone because there may be some aspects in life that we just can't prevent, but it's the way we deal with these things that makes us who we are today.  Pausch really expresses a lot of emotion in this book when mentioning his children and his wife, Jai.  Once he found out he had pancreatic cancer, Pausch said he and Jai cried for days knowing that his time on Earth was limited.  However, this book is more about a celebration of life rather than despair.  Most of the book is composed of stories Pausch experienced throughout his life.  These include family trips, how he met his wife, and his success at Carnegie Mellon.  

Overall, I would recommend reading this book because it makes you want to live life to the fullest, and take granted for the things that you have in this life.  At times I often found myself reflecting on my childhood and past experiences I had with my family.  The summation of events told in this story will make it a book that is shared for generations to come.