How do you identify personally with this book?

Use this forum to discuss the January 2018 Book of the Month, "And Then I Met Margaret" by Rob White
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uyky
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Re: How do you identify personally with this book?

Post by uyky »

Paul78 wrote: 26 Jan 2018, 04:06
uyky wrote: 17 Jan 2018, 12:38 I can't identify with it at all. To me author is kind of spoiled and sees the world as something that is there only for him, without much regard for others. It's on point if you want money and power, but I do believe being a good person is more important.
If you look at the beginning of the book, you will see his auntie passing the best gifts before her demise. Through his actions in the stores, he is forced to join the teaching career. That is a positive moment that one can identify with.
Each person identifies with different things. I am sorry to say it did not work for me, even though I did like first three or four stories of his childhood.
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JayMarie21
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Post by JayMarie21 »

It's a good reminder that life is all about the people we meet along the way. It is important to enjoy the journey as well as the destination as everyone has something (good or bad) to teach you along the way.
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Chigozie Anuli Mbadugha
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Post by Chigozie Anuli Mbadugha »

A lot of the stories here resonated with me. As a child growing up I had a low self esteem. I felt different, out of place. I had some difficulty making lots of friends. I did have a few very good friends though. The harder I tried to "fit in", the lower my self esteem became. I found chapters 5 and 6 which taught self-confidence and self-assertion very educative.
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Post by NeonKay »

I really loved the story. It makes me re-evaluate my life everytime I flip the pages of the book. At a young age, I have made my dreams very dear to me. I always look forward of growing faster so that I can accomplish them. Just then I finished my studies I realized I've made my life very complicated. Its like messing up your longest, big plan, and you just don't know how to get out of it. (lol) However, I did reach many goals and I'm thankful for it (but maybe not much). But still, discontentment lingers inside me. Overall, I can say this is really a good book that I can relate to and is very recommendable to anyone who needs refreshment to get in tuned again to their inner-self again.
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Post by drei97 »

The one that personally struck me was the author's advice to start believing that I'm smarter than I actually am. People around me say that I'm still quite young to be too hard on myself. But I always begged to disagree. A lot of people my age have started achieving and making their marks in this world while I'm still stuck in this university that I can't graduate from. I'm long overdue. When I realized that, I started feeling small and unintelligent. Growing up, I always believed that I'm above average in terms of my intellect, especially compared to some of my classmates, but when I see them reaching for the stars just makes me feel like my whole life was a lie. It turns out I'm not smart enough.

But White sparked something up in me. Success is a decision. And failing is inevitable. But being a failure and staying at rock bottom, that is a choice I don't have to make. Kudos to this guru!
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Post by The BookWorm Nagham »

It made me feel like I should be more and have done more. But he gave me hope that I could encounter my destiny later on, maybe right now it's just not my time. Maybe I'm in the wrong spot. You just have to keep an open mind and be optimistic. Change isn't always good, and ending up in your hometown isn't always so bad. Where you are and what you do isn't the point. The main point is to be the best version of yourself, explore all your hidden talents and try to achieve your dreams.
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Post by Nelsy Mtsweni »

I think it comes natural for one to be judgmental and critical, we just need to be aware of ourselves when we do that, and try and back-off. I can identify with the story since I had some incidences where after judging a situation I wouldn't want to be caught in, that is exactly where I would end up. So, I learnt that it is important for one to learn to be open-minded.
Remember, that which you judge you become.
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Post by Annogor »

I can relate with this book on some levels. First, i often get inspired by my own unofficial gurus. Secondly, it goes on to emphasise the impact of decision making is only felt when you work .
And dilligence is key in everything you do. Failure , sometimes is inevitable, but it is how you deal with it that matters
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Post by Emmanae »

It makes me want to work on inner peace on a more day to day approach. I want to work on practicing yoga more often, and generally working to find my inner calm, even in the midst of chaos.
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Post by Insomniac07 »

The story of the black cat really resonated with me because I'm very quick to think of all the worst case scenarios. The formula one driving lesson was also pretty good because I do think I know much more than I actually do at times.
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Post by Cate Mbevi »

I closely relate to Rob's stories about his background. Having grown up in the village and in a remote area has always dictated the friends I make, how I use my money and the decisions I make.
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Post by Sphanice »

kandscreeley wrote: 03 Jan 2018, 10:17 I don't know that I necessarily personally related to the stories per se. I did, however, relate to the lessons that the author learned.
Experience is the best teacher.
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Post by Arrigo_Lupori »

brian360 wrote: 04 Jan 2018, 09:45 I can relate this story with myself how I've gone backwards at times and feeling like a failure but there are always important lessons to learn from such experience
Yeah I like to think so too. There are many ways one could see things going on in the world but few of them involve the act of understanding how much more valuable one's life is than personal success.
"The abstract sensation of living a lifestyle that hasn't been fully understood."
- The epitome of taste in living disgrace.
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Post by Mekkinism »

I identified more with the lessons learned than the actual stories that demonstrated them, if that makes any sense. Especially in the second half of the book, where he's already wealthy and successful, I found it really difficult to empathize.
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Post by dphelps1113 »

I found it hard to personally make the connections since it was the complete opposite of my upbringing. The lessons learned throughout the book did speak to my heart.
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