Book Selection

This week I chose to read "How Starbucks Saved My Life" by Michael Gates Gill.

This is a true story about a man who thought he had it all - job with a major advertising firm, loving wife and children. And then it all started to unravel - losing his job because of his age, losing his wife due to an affair, and to top it all off he has been diagnosed with a slow growing brain tumor that is taking his hearing with it.

One day Michael Gates Gill was sitting in a Starbucks worrying about where he will find the money to pay his rent, how he will pay for his operation, and how to provide health insurance for his young son . . . when a young woman asked him if he would like a job. This was the beginning of a new life for Mike as he became know to the many friends he would make working at the Starbucks on Ninety-Third and Broadway in Manhattan.

I liked this book. I liked the lessons Mike learned about what it meant to show and receive respect and what it means to be happy. He tried his best to change his way of thinking, sometimes he had some missteps but he kept on working at it. One thing that did annoy me about the book was the constant name dropping. Every single chapter Mike would reflect on some part of his past which inevitably meant he was going to discuss meeting a famous or important person. I understand that he probably did meet and work with these people, but it just proved to me that Mike wasn't ready to give up that part of his past. Aside from that the overall message of the book was good and I do recommend it.

If you're interested in reading "How Starbucks Saved My Life" by Michael Gates Gill, you can find it at Barnes and Noble or at your local library.