Viki Chen Reviews: The Last Lecture

Book Review: The Last Lecture
The Last Lecture is a non-fiction book written by Randy Pausch. He is a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon. After finding out that he was dying of pancreatic cancer and only had a few months to live, Randy Pausch gave his last lecture based on “really achieving our childhood dreams.” The main propose of his lecture was to deliver messages to his children, and instead of giving the lecture based on dying; he wanted to help them understand the importance of childhood dreams and overcoming obstacles. Not only did he want to teach them to achieve their own dreams, but also to enable the dreams of others, as well as seizing every moment even though Randy himself wouldn’t be able to help them achieve this. Throughout the story, he struggles with time. Having a wife and three kids, it was difficult for Randy to accept the fact that he won’t be there for them any longer. However, instead of giving up and losing faith, he tried to cherish every moment he had with his family, while, preparing for his last lecture.

All of the characters in this book are believable. Randy Pausch is very inspirational as he explains all of his accomplishments in life; from dreaming his childhood dreams, into making them possible. From the book, he gives the audience an impression of a man who can do anything, and is not scared to face death. “He told the doctors that he’d be willing to endure anything in their surgical arsenal, and he’d swallow anything in their medicine cabinet, because he had one objective: he wanted to be alive as long as possible for Jai and the kids” (Pausch 58). However, at some points of the book, we still need to remind ourselves that he is still human; especially in times where he had to face his illness and emotions. After receiving some advice from his doctor, he replied: “Look, I’m not in denial about my situation. I am maintaining my clear-eyed sense of the inevitable. I’m living like I’m dying. But at the same time, I’m very much living like I’m still living.” (Pausch 182) From reading this book, one can easily tell that randy Pausch himself is a very logical person, and people who know him sometimes complain that he sees things in black and white. Being the main character himself, although sometimes I am surprised about how well he is able to handle his news about dying, Randy Pauch made himself sound realistic. He has been a logical man who believed in achieving his own dream. For example, “when I was eight years old, I knew then that pretty much anything was possible. It was as if all of us, all over the world, had been given permission to dream big dreams” (Pausch 131).
Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Last Lecture. I would recommend it to everyone above age thirteen. Randy Pauch has truly delivered some very significant and important lessons and messages that are worth knowing. This book is suggested for people who enjoy reading non-fiction stories and are looking for inspiration. For me personally, it was very inspirational as every small story in his lectures is meaningful. I admire his optimism and intelligence. Not one time throughout the book did Randy Pausch felt like giving up, instead he had the courage to make the best of life; to face whatever was coming for him. Not only he prepared himself for the days ahead, but also, he considered his children and his wife, and what is best for them. Instead of being overwhelmed and caught up by the idea of dying, Randy accepted this fact, and I especially like and agree with the quote from Randy Pausch himself: “We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”