Background
Published in 2015, “A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety,” by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, is the reflection on his long and varied life, offering insights into his personal experiences, public service, and enduring values. Written as he reached his 90th year, Carter shares anecdotes from his childhood in rural Georgia, his years in the Navy, his political career, and his post-presidency humanitarian work. The memoir is rich with his thoughts on faith, family, and the principles that guided him through decades of public and private challenges. Carter’s humility, wisdom, and commitment to peace and human rights shine through in this deeply personal and reflective work, providing readers with an intimate portrait of one of America’s most respected statesmen.
My Thoughts
Honestly, I want to like President Carter. I respect that he really was his own person and by most accounts was a legitimately nice genuine guy. His charity work has been nothing short of amazing. He used his position to do as much good as he could and he was himself the whole time. He even mentioned my church in the book… However, I just couldn’t get into this book. I didn’t like the pacing and I feel like something intangible was tugging at me the entire time.
On a separate note, there doesn’t seem to be much room for a nice guy in politics. That thought gives me more pain than I’d like to admit. When I was in high school, I had a saying that if someone wanted to be politics, they shouldn’t be in politics. That’s exactly the kind of self defeating nonsense that justified me staying out of any meaningful work. I really don’t have an answer.
Recommendation
This was a hard one to get through.