The Key to A Kind Soul: Congratulations, by the way by George Saunders (MM)

In this post: Points that encourage you to read this book and build your kind soul today.

Category: Finding Yourself + Post College

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The second entry in my Minute Memo series, where books that are very short in content get equally quick reviews and insights. Books considered Minute Memos may or may not include all the categories included in my usual post - book notes, food for thought, or questions to ask and answer, for example. These books are perfect if you want a quick primer within a category but you also want an accompanying review to help you learn if it is worth your time. You will find Minute Memos denoted as "(MM)" in blog post titles.

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Let's get on to the review!

Ramiah Recommended?

Yes. No exclamation mark here, but it is a good book nonetheless. Saunders stresses graduates of Syracuse University to practice a behavior I think is often appreciated but forgotten: kindness.

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness - George Saunders (pg 17)

What this book does especially well is level its positives with negatives. Saunders writes how to quell the selfishness every human inherently has and that it doesn't stop mean we are incapable of practicing kindness in all ways of our lives - he posits we have all put others' needs before our own, be more open, and be more loving, and have liked them. Saunders also cautions running after success, saying that using success as a measure for inner happiness is unreliable and will take over our whole life.

There is a great graphic of a starry sky that has more and more stars added throughout the book. I understood it as a symbol of more and more people having souls full of kindness, which Saunders affirms in the final pages. His writing style is to the point yet caring, and he provides a unique outlook of empathy being the everyday person's way to make the world a better place.

Congratulations, by the way is less me-me-me than In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It (you can read my review of that book here), which if you've been following this blog, you know is a BIG plus. I'm of the mindset that could use more kindness in their lives, and this book is a good push in the right direction to get there

Ramiah Reflects

In place My New Favorite Life Quotes, Questions to Ask Yourself (and answer!), and Food for Thought sections, I am adding my favorite paragraph from the book:

"As we get older, we come to see how useless it is to be selfish -- how illogical, really. We come to love certain other people and are thereby counter instructed in our own centrality. We get our butts kicked by real life, and people come to our defense, and help us, and we learn that we're not separate, and don't want to be. We see people near and dear to us dropping away, and are more gradually convinced that we too will drop away (someday, long time from now). Love now" (pg 35).

This paragraph perfectly exemplifies most of my Ramiah Recommended section. now is the time to practice kindness.

Ramiah's Re-read When

Re-read when:

• You want to become a kind soul

• You want to find ways to include kindness in your everyday life

• You find yourself feeling or wanting to be selfish

• You want/need/have a reminder of our mortality and need encouragement to love now

No book notes for this MM read.

Check out my other posts and book notes here.

Until next time!

Montana Houston