Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation

This book collects some advice and thoughts from Congressman John Lewis, written down shortly before he passed away last year. Lewis was a legendary figure, a huge part of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, and a friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.The book is divided into 37 chapters, each one containing thoughts on a specific subject. The chapters discuss: Good Days, Mentors, Heroes, Good Trouble, Activism, Justice, Courage, Character, Humility, Conscience, Hope, Spirituality, Faith, Patience, Fear, Forgiveness, Happiness, Friendship, Love, Marriage, Learning, Art, Books, Sports, Dress, Money, Immigration, Orientation, the Environment, COVID-19, Health Care, Vision, Communication, Voting, Death, Leaving a Legacy, and the Future.Lewis speaks about MLK and Ghandi, about Rosa Parks, about appreciating the little things, about forgiving and having patience that justice will prevail. Each section is very short, most are less than two pages, but there is so much wisdom condensed into the chapters.I am grateful that a person like Lewis, that had seen so much in his lifetime, took the time to think about and share the advice that he found to be the most important. He accomplished quite a bit in life, but now even after his passing, future generations that partially owe him for the freedoms that they enjoy, can read about what he thought was important enough to write down. I felt like I owed it to Mr. Lewis to read these short gems of wisdom, and I was not disappointed. In my opinion, it is definitely worth taking the 45 minutes or so to read this book.

I like that you replaced my soggy copy no questions. We took it to the local UPS store on Friday and had the new one on Sunday. I got the new copy yesterday and started reading it. I think I will be a better person for the reading of John Lewis' thought about life. This book can be read like a devotional which inspires you each day. This book would make great gifts.

Lessons are plentiful from this great statesman. In an era of divisiveness, lying, gridlocked Congress, we need to put the words from this book into action. Civility and racial justice is in peril. Each person would benefit by not just reading this book but by putting the words into action.

Deep and saintly inspiration for the ages from John Lewis.

What more can I say than the late Congressman John Lewis is the best of the best (as evidenced in this book).

Wow! One of the best books I've read! I could not put it down. A truly remarkable human being.

what a wonderful book, full of inspiration and reflections

I finished this book a couple days before actually writing this review as I needed a few days to collect my thoughts and feelings about it. Even though I gave Carry On: Reflections For A New Generation by John Lewis and Andrew Young a 3 star rating I would actually raise it to 3.5 and maybe 3.75 stars if I could. This book is a quick read with short chapters and pretty much is just a collection of thoughts from John Lewis on a mix of topics from voting, religion, hope, love, faith, racism, the Covid-19 Pandemic, and so much more.I just couldn't give this book the 4 or 5 stars I wanted to. I just felt the book was just too quick and random on the topics and feel like it would be one of those books that would be great sitting on your end table or coffee table for a passerby to just pick up and glance at every now and then. I also feel sometimes there wasn't enough depth in the topics when I was hoping there would be. Don't get me wrong, there was quite a bit of stuff that I found inspiring and had my attention. I also enjoyed the writing as it was simple and to the point. I really enjoyed John Lewis discussing his meetings with Martin Luther King Jr. and his time and participation with the Freedom Riders and other marches along with his shared wisdom and insight into things, but I also wish many of those stories were longer and went deeper than they did in this book. In the end I did enjoy this book and do recommend it if you want to know more of who John Lewis was as a person and see how the man thought and where he comes from.