Extraordinary Stories Everywhere, Rediscovering Our Awe

I've always loved the style of Po Bronson's book, What Should I Do With My Life? The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question. It's written in first-person, much like a blog. That personal style had been on my mind, and I couldn't resist grabbing the new paperback version (9 new stories) when I saw it this week prominently displayed in a bookstore.

“Bronson is both an observer and character, which adds depth and empathy to the narratives…” – Salt Lake City Enterprise review

I loved that he totally upturned the impartial observer interviewer-interviewee convention and connected with the people he ran across. And he says he used serendipity to find his 'subjects'.  Stories are everywhere.  In all, he spoke to 900 people in the course of writing the book. About 50 stories made the cut.

“Journalists are supposed to be impartial. They’re not supposed to care overtly for the people they write about. In rejecting that method, Po seems to be suggesting that caring for others is necessary for a meaningful life. Do you agree? What would Po have gained or missed had he adopted a journalist’s customary detachment?” – Publisher’s reading group guide

I think it made it a bestseller. (OK, the timing perfectly coincided with the dot-com bust too.) Not because it overtly strived and bustled its way onto the bestseller list, but because it quietly, powerfully spoke to a heck of a lot of people on a Big subject matter - intimitely and up close .

All books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour, and the books of all time. - John Ruskin

And by far of all, I loved that Bronson enlarged his view and saw the extraordinary in the ordinary. He spoke to real people, not necessarily successful rock star titans:

“I live in a different world now. Or one I perceive differently, thanks to the openness of the people I’ve met. I feel like I’ve rediscovered my awe. Let me explain what that means. I used to look at the world through the eye of a magazine writer, filtering out the ordinary while waiting for the sensational and buzz-worthy to trigger my muse. There  were so many people I didn’t listen to, so many stories I passed on, because I couldn’t imagine them grabbing the attention of news-hungry editors.

By writing this book – as a book, not as a series for magazines – I have opened up my filter and learned to see the extraordinary in the once castaway ordinary. Good stories used to be rare; now they’re everywhere, and better than anything I used to find…

If some of the stories are amazing, it suggests to me that amazing stories must be everywhere. If stories are inspiring, then inspiring stories are everywhere. If the stories are ordinary – which is how I think of them – then many ordinary people, everywhere, are daring to be true to themselves.” - Po Bronson, What Should I Do With My Life?

Comments

[TonyD]

Right on! I have always loved Po Bronson's work, and that book in particular. I first discovered him by reading the Wired article that later expanded into "What Should I do with my Life." Its honesty and dry wit was a tonic to Wired's relentless optimism about technology and the market.

[lyndonk]

I had accompanied my wife to a gathering of people I knew nothing about and had 'nothing in common with' - or so I thought. Sitting in the living room reading Po Bronson's, "What Should I do with my Life" at least 3 people came up to me to say they had just finished the book and how much they loved it. This caused a general gathering of people writing down the name of the book and fostered a great deal of conversation with others as they gathered for the meeting.

This was NOT a gathering of ex-dot-com-ers, these were Po's "ordinaries", just like me. Never did I think I would feel good about wearing the "ordinary" title - it just fits.