The Pursuit Of Happyness by Chris Gardner

The Pursuit Of Happyness focuses on the obstacles that Chris Gardner had to overcome in order to rise from his poverty-stricken childhood and successfully achieve his goals as an adult. Ultimately, this success was defined by the fact that he knew exactly what he wanted, he knew why he wanted it, he believed he could achieve it, he had faith that it was on its way and lastly he took action on every level to make it happen. Through it all, however, he never glosses over areas of the story that could have been cleaned up to make himself appear a little more saintly but rather honestly relates what happened to him showing that we are all where we are due to the decisions that we make. However, while Gardner’s message is one of hope, not rage or vindication, you may find yourself pausing in the latter quarter of the book to wonder how deep his self-examination really went

The few things about his story that bothered me included Chris’s insistence on putting his mother on a pedestal despite her being incarcerated twice, once for attempted murder and another time for welfare fraud and the fact that she was too weak to leave an alcoholic husband who repeatedly beat both Chris and herself. Secondly, Chris’s constant references to his sexual exploits and drug use, especially after talking about not being to provide food for his wife and child were quite chilling and the book never says if he straightens out or not. Another thing I found offensive was his willingness to overlook racial slurs from a rich oil tycoon and then to take advantage of that man’s death by unethically selling all the stock in the man’s portfolio before the estate had a chance to clear probate all in the name of the almighty dollar. Additionally, I found it anything but honorable, that Mr. Gardner would ignore his young daughter all together and then send the young son that he supposedly loved so much to live across the country with a woman who had already abandoned him just so that he could continue to achieve his goal of becoming a wealthy stock broker.

However, despite these questionable character flaws and the book’s use of raw language and some too graphic sexual scenes, The Pursuit of Happyness, tells a story that is exceptionally candid giving testament to others that no matter where you come from - with focus, persistence, determination you can get to where you are going - if you just don’t give up. Additionally, the book, by its graphic nature causes the reader to feel all the pain that Chris feels, especially the deep-seated hate for his stepfather.

Overall, the story covers a gamut of trials and tribulations, including dysfunctional parents, illiteracy, child abuse, drug addiction, and ultimately, homelessness and tells the tale of an intelligent and skilled individual who made a number of bad career and personal choices, and ultimately overcame them. Therefore, while not a book for young teens its vision for achieving a better life is a message that every young adult should hear. The reader must be aware however, that the reading of this book will not leave you with the same heartwarming feeling that was inspired by the Will Smith movie since the book shows the not so nice aspects of Chris’s life, many of which were self-created. In general, while not a prizewinner it candidly describes the good, the bad, and the in-between thus making it a competent autobiography of a poor kid who makes good.

[tags]The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner, Overcoming, Autobiography, Inspirational, accomplishment, success,[/tags]