Official Review: My Living Will by John Trautwein
9 posts
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "My Living Will" by John Trautwein.]
No parent ever wants to have their children pass away before they do. Sadly, John Trautwein and his family had to go through this experience when their oldest son, Will, committed suicide when he was only fifteen years old. John was not sure how he and his family would be able to move on from this traumatic experience. However, they were able to find a way to grieve and help others in memory of Will. This is what inspired Mr. Trautwein to write My Living Will.
When I read the first chapter of the book, I was surprised at the amount of detail that was included regarding the discovery of Will’s suicide. I did not expect the author to include this because I assumed that talking about that day would be a sad subject for him. My prejudice was proven wrong time and time again as I read through this chapter and the ones that followed it. Mr. Trautwein uses many analogies, especially ones that pertain to baseball, to tell readers why talking about his son’s death is not as painful as they think it is. Readers will have to pick this book up to have their curiosity satisfied.
My favorite part of the book was around the halfway point when I came upon multiple pictures of the Trautwein family. I had read emotionally charged content right before I saw these photos, so having these family photos introduced immediately after caused an emotional connection that I had never felt while reading a book. While I did have to take many breaks while reading this book due to how hard it was for me, it became easier after this point.
I was intrigued by the way that the author went about honoring his son. A foundation was formed in his honor called the Will to Live Foundation that supports kids who are going through a rough time. It was interesting to see how each of the family members, John, Susie, Tommy, Mikey, and Holyn, interacted with each new person they met in this foundation who became the “life teammate” that helped the family move on.
One thing that I found slightly off-putting was the slight narcissism that came from Mr. Trautwein. He kept referencing his time as a baseball player and using his own life experiences to cope. I was not able to relate to some of them, as my knowledge of baseball is limited. However, these stories did not affect my enjoyment of the book as I was engrossed in it every step of the way.
Religious Christian ideals are mentioned countless times throughout the book, so I do not recommend this book to anyone who may be offended by them. There were some grammatical errors that I found, but they were not distracting. I rate My Living Will4 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to parents that have lost their children and are looking for a way to cope. If you are a reader that is sensitive about the act of suicide in any capacity, then I suggest that you skip this book.
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My Living Will
View: on Bookshelves |
No parent ever wants to have their children pass away before they do. Sadly, John Trautwein and his family had to go through this experience when their oldest son, Will, committed suicide when he was only fifteen years old. John was not sure how he and his family would be able to move on from this traumatic experience. However, they were able to find a way to grieve and help others in memory of Will. This is what inspired Mr. Trautwein to write My Living Will.
When I read the first chapter of the book, I was surprised at the amount of detail that was included regarding the discovery of Will’s suicide. I did not expect the author to include this because I assumed that talking about that day would be a sad subject for him. My prejudice was proven wrong time and time again as I read through this chapter and the ones that followed it. Mr. Trautwein uses many analogies, especially ones that pertain to baseball, to tell readers why talking about his son’s death is not as painful as they think it is. Readers will have to pick this book up to have their curiosity satisfied.
My favorite part of the book was around the halfway point when I came upon multiple pictures of the Trautwein family. I had read emotionally charged content right before I saw these photos, so having these family photos introduced immediately after caused an emotional connection that I had never felt while reading a book. While I did have to take many breaks while reading this book due to how hard it was for me, it became easier after this point.
I was intrigued by the way that the author went about honoring his son. A foundation was formed in his honor called the Will to Live Foundation that supports kids who are going through a rough time. It was interesting to see how each of the family members, John, Susie, Tommy, Mikey, and Holyn, interacted with each new person they met in this foundation who became the “life teammate” that helped the family move on.
One thing that I found slightly off-putting was the slight narcissism that came from Mr. Trautwein. He kept referencing his time as a baseball player and using his own life experiences to cope. I was not able to relate to some of them, as my knowledge of baseball is limited. However, these stories did not affect my enjoyment of the book as I was engrossed in it every step of the way.
Religious Christian ideals are mentioned countless times throughout the book, so I do not recommend this book to anyone who may be offended by them. There were some grammatical errors that I found, but they were not distracting. I rate My Living Will4 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to parents that have lost their children and are looking for a way to cope. If you are a reader that is sensitive about the act of suicide in any capacity, then I suggest that you skip this book.
******
My Living Will
View: on Bookshelves |
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