Curtis Olson

Dear Robert Lipsyte,
 
When reading this book I felt as if the message was just for me.  Some people read a book and it had little to no impact on them at all.  But your book changed my thinking dramatically.  The way you wrote The Brave really made me think about my own life.

I used to always complain about my own problems.  Just think how bad things were for me.  Then once I read about how bad Sonny’s life was on the reservation.  I then, realized how small my problems really were.  Your book opened my eyes to how bad others have it.

Your book also taught me that whining about how bad things are doesn’t get you where you want to go in life.  If you want to change something you have to go and change it; it will not just change by it self.  Sonny taught me that when you don’t care about anything bad things happened.  When he was just a drug smuggler he had no ambition.  When he finally realized that he didn’t like what he was doing, he decided to quit and take up boxing instead.

Another lesson I have learned from this book is that second chances aren’t free.  You have to earn your second chances, they aren’t just handed to you.  Sonny earned his second chance when he behaved well in jail.  So Sergeant Brooks let him out and told him he had potential in boxing.  He took advantage of the second chance and never got in trouble with the law again.

Overall, I felt this book taught me a lot of life lessons, how my attitude hasn’t always been the best.  I used to get in a lot of trouble.  Having a good attitude makes a huge difference in how you treat yourself and how others treat you.  I learned that from Sonny because no one wanted to be friends with him because he had a bad attitude.  Thanks for talking to me through Sonny.

From,
Curtis Olson