Role, Book Review Example

Summary

Chapters 12 through 15 detail the final individuals which Jon travels to meet. He meets Katie, 24-year-old woman with Down’s syndrome, Miles, 15-year-old ADHD male, and Jeff, a 46-year-old man with what appears to be autism or eccentric behavior. Jon also takes a short break during the trip to try and reinvent himself by visiting the Burning Man.

Keypoint

Jon learns that there really is no ‘normal’ per se. Although individuals may have diagnoses of any variation of mental illness, all humans have idiosyncrasies to make Jon wonder if ‘normal’ is ever really ‘normal.’ Katie demonstrated this by accepting herself just as she was and not seeing herself as anything other than normal.

Keypoint

Letting go of the past and working through hurtful experiences is a personal journey. Family, friends and professionals may try to help, but in the end the work is up to the individual person. Miles has the work ahead of him in learning to live this way. Jeff had already worked through it and felt he could give back to society by living a good and moral life, regardless of what others had tried to make him believe.

Keypoint

Reinventing oneself is really an exercise in understanding and accepting shortcomings and false beliefs inspired by the outside world. As Jon longed to see the Burning Man and replace his old thoughts by becoming enlightened with new ones, he learns that it was up to him to decide what parts to leave behind, what to change and what to accept.

Highlight/Essense

Some small amount of mental illness can be argued to be in each of us. Jon discovers that no matter what the diagnosis, each individual person has something to contribute to the world; everything and everyone effects the places and people they encounter. That everyone is beautiful within their own unique talents and gifts; no matter how great or small.