The Last Lecture

I just finished reading The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch. It was written by a man who, at age 46, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given just a few months to live. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and after his diagnosis, chose to give a "last lecture," sharing the wisdom he had gained in life with his students. He also intended for it to be a message to his children when they are old enough to grasp it all.
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The topic of the lecture was "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," and he went through some of the things he had wanted to do as a child and had actually achieved, including working as an Imagineer at Disneyland, writing an article for World Book Encyclopedia and getting to experience zero gravity. He encouraged others to pursue their own dreams as well. He also talked about a number of ways that he had truly enjoyed life and made the most of it.
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I believe I learned some things from this book, but in my way of thinking, the thing that seemed to be glaringly absent was a faith in God. He did make a vague reference to his faith near the end without being specific about what he believed, but if I knew I were dying, the thing that would be top on my list of concerns, the thing I would most want to pass on to my children, would to be to know God and have assurance of spending eternity with Him. I don’t know for a fact that this author didn’t, and I pray that he did, but if he didn’t, then that is sadder than a life cut short, a widowed wife or children growing up without a father.
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Randy Pausch died on July 25 of this year at age 47. The book is really not a tearjerker for the most part, as at the time of writing he is still alive and looking at things from a positive viewpoint. It is entertaining and thought-provoking. I would probably give it 4 stars out of 5.