Great Book - Inspirational Reading

How Starbucks Saved My Life is a great book. I read it in less than a day. This non-fiction book tells the story of a man who was on top, a member of Skull and Bones from Yale, part of a privileged society, someone who spoke with Hemingway, Thurber, Frost, Eliot and other literary giants and then made a career in advertising, only to be thrown out of the society because he was too expensive and no longer young (at 53). He spends the next ten years struggling as a consultant, loses his identity and cheats on his wife. He gets another woman pregnant and then gets divorced, losing everything in the process, including his four children from his marriage, who see him grudgingly.

Gill is the son of fabled New Yorker writer Brendan Gill, who was one of the literary giants of the 20th century and opened the door for his son to the world of arts and literature.

Starbucks, in the form of Crystal, the store manager at 93rd and Broadway, throws him a life raft in the form of a job. He takes it eagerly and learns many menial tasks in a rebirth for him. He learns that he loves to clean, that he can work a cash register, that he can work the bar and make a Double Half Caffe Machiato and a Venti Frapuccino and feel good about it. He also is extremely insecure and afraid he will be fired at any moment. That's how far this senior exec from J. Walter Thompson has fallen.But as he gains confidence and uses his skills, he gets stronger and better at everything, including life.

Gill tells this story in a compelling way and keeps you reading. He talks about how Starbucks is a great place to work, with excellent health and educational benefits, even for part-timers. But as he talks about Starbucks, he relates past events that include running with the Bulls in Spain in 1959 to impress Ernest Hemingway, saving Grand Central Station with his father and Jackie Kennedy Onassis, embarrasing himself over a sandwich with Queen Elizabeth, and winning major accounts for JWT, including Ford and the Marines, all while talking about Starbucks.

He does a great job of making you feel like you know the main people he works with, and you feel close to others in the store in addition to Crystal. Crystal's mother was a drug addict, she didn't know her father, and she grew up with her aunt. Somehow, she turns into a great manager at 28. Others, like Tawana, Charlie and Kester, are also developed well and I felt like I knew them after reading this book.

I felt very happy for him as I finished the book, as he definitely is in a better place than he ever was before. It appears that he has a better relationship with his children, his health is better, and he is happier.

However, even as the book ends, Gill still doesn't have his priorities straight. His work comes first and always has. He also glosses over the fact that he had a child out of wedlock with another woman and ruined his marriage and his life.

But, he picked himself up and took pride in small things and got happiness out of life. Kind of makes you want to work for Starbucks!

How Starbucks Saved My Life is being made into a movie by Tom Hanks and Gus Van Sant. I can't wait to see it.

Facts:
Edition - Paperback (includes a new Afterword by the author)
Genre: Non-Fiction
Publisher - Gotham Books
Pages - 268

review - copyright 2008 - jordango