In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving
by Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy
One of my favorite movies in the past year has been The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw. According to imdb.com, "Based on the true story of Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy who take in a homeless teenage African-American, Michael "Big Mike" Oher. Michael has no idea who is father is and his mother is a crack head. Michael has had little formal education and few skills to help him learn. Leigh Anne soon takes charge however, as is her nature, ensuring that the young man has every opportunity to succeed. When he expresses an interest in football, she goes all out to help him, including giving the coach a few ideas on how best to use Michael's skills. They not only provide him with a loving home, but hire a tutor to help him improve his grades to the point where he would qualify for an NCAA Division I athletic scholarship. Michael Oher was the first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2009 NFL draft." It's a powerful movie and I LOVE IT!
One day, wandering through Sam's Club books, I came across In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving by Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy. I read the cover jacket and was intrigued. I give an autobiography/biography assignment to my 9th graders first term and thought this might be a good addition to my personal library I loan out. However, because of some other books I've purchased and wanted to add, I decided I'd better read it as a preview. WOW! What a great book!! You feel like you're in the room with Sean and Leigh Anne as they tell you their story! It's very well-written and makes you think about things you could do in your own life to take on this spirit of giving and caring for others. Sure, they're loaded beyond words (monetarily) but they weren't always in that position. Both came from VERY humble beginnings and worked their way up. Nothing was handed to them and consequently, they don't hand their children the world. It's a concept this society could really learn from to help deal with the "I'm entitled" mentality our children, and most adults, have.
I didn't finish the entire book but plan to as soon as it returns to my shelves.
Pages: 288
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