“Audio book read by Dylan Baker
Gill was a highly-paid executive with the largest, most prestigious advertising agency in New York City when, at age 53, he was fired. The agency had a new owner who wanted “young” people in charge, and Gill had become superfluous. He struggled with forming his own consulting firm, and had some modest success … for a few years. But 10 years later, when the reader first meets Gill, he is sitting at Starbucks hoping against hope that his phone will ring and enjoying a latte he really cannot afford any longer. It so happens that there is a job fair going on at this particular Starbucks on this particular day. The young woman sitting at the next table casually asks him, “Would you like a job?” Gill surprises himself by answering, “Yes.” Thus begins a new phase in his life. He can pay his rent, provide health insurance for his children, and learn what his talents really are, regaining his confidence and some insight into his previous life and his new outlook.
It’s a pretty interesting journey, and, for the most part, I enjoyed it. However ….
The book is subtitled: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else. In case we didn’t understand this concept just by reading the cover, Gill manages to insert some vignette from his privileged life every chapter … how he met Sinatra, Hemingway, Auden; or the size of his mansion (37 rooms); the time he saw Ali in his first professional fight; meetings with Lee Iacocca and other titans of industry; etc. I’m sure he meant it to help illustrate just how far he had come, or how difficult it was for him to change his outlook, but I got tired of it. I still give it 3 stars because I did enjoy it, and I was left wanting more …
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