Book Description
What makes a happy person, a happy life? In this
remarkable book, George Dawson, a 101-year-old man who
learned to read when he was 98, reflects on the philosophy he
learned from his father--a belief that "life is so
good"--as he offers valuable lessons in living and a
fresh, firsthand view of America during the twentieth
century.
Born in 1898 in Marshall, Texas, the grandson of slaves,
George Dawson tells how his father, despite hardships, always
believed in seeing the richness in life and trained his
children to do the same. As a boy, George had to go to work
to help support the family, and so he did not attend school
or learn to read; yet he describes how he learned to read the
world and survive in it. "We make our own way," he
says. "Trouble is out there, but a person can leave it
alone and just do the right thing. Then, if trouble still
finds you, you've done the best you can."
At ninety-eight, George decided to learn to read and enrolled
in a literacy program, becoming a celebrated student.
"Every morning I get up and I wonder what I might learn
that day. You just never know."
In Life Is So Good, he shares wisdom on everything
from parenting ("With children, you got to raise them.
Some parents these days are growing children, not raising
them") to attitude ("People worry too much. Life is
good, just the way it is").
Richard Glaubman captures George Dawson's irresistible voice
and view of the world, offering insights into humanity,
history, and America--eyewitness impressions of segregation,
changes in human relations, the wars and the presidents,
inventions such as the car and the airplane, and much, much
more. And throughout his story, George Dawson inspires the
reader with the message that sustained him happily for more
than a century: "Life is so good. I do believe it's
getting better."
