In A Heartbeat-- Final Summary

Now that I have finished the book and am able to look at it as a whole, I think that it was overall an amazing book and I am so glad that I read it. Besides the fact that this book had an amazing story to it and focused on the amazing doings of the Tuohy family, this book really inspired me to be a better person. While I know that I cannot do something to the extent that they did, I took away much more from the book. I have learned that even though I know that I cannot do something like the Tuohy’s did, I can do something that makes a difference to one person. I already talked about this in a different blog post, but I thought that the most meaningful quote came from Leigh Anne in one of the sections that she wrote. She wrote about giving to one person at a time and how each person means something. Even though it may be impossible for me to help an entire community of people or to adopt a person into my family, just simply giving someone the time of day and showing that you care about them can be enough. Deciding to contain yourself from making judgments of others and giving each and every person a chance to see who they really are is such a simple, yet life-altering act. Sean told a story that helped reiterate this point. A boy was walking along the beach where there had been a large tide that had washed thousands of starfish onto the shore. The starfish were all beginning to dry out and die, so the boy kept picking them up one by one and throwing them back into the water. The boy’s father said to him, “you can’t save them all, let’s just keep walking.” The boy replied by saying, “you may be right, but I just saved one more life” as he threw one more starfish back into the water. Each person’s life is just as important as the next, and it is so important to look at people with this mindset, rather than giving people labels and stereotypes. I want to end my blog about this book with a statistic that really struck me. Being an extremely faith-driven family, much of the book refers to the Tuohy’s faith and their church. Leigh Anne pointed out a statistic that shocked me and made me realize the difference that we can make in the world. I leave you with this last thought. “If every church in the United States would see to it that just one child is adopted, the problem of homeless children in this country would disappear. If each of us got invoved, we could wipe it out overnight.” We have so much opportunity to make a difference in our country that it is now the responsibility of the citizens of the United States to step up and start giving back to others.

In A Heartbeat-- Post 5

As I finished off the book, I thought that the last couple chapters were as good as the rest. We hear again from both Sean and Leigh Anne, as well as from their son, S.J. Again, the book goes back to the idea of cheerful giving and to the message of sharing the wealth. Sean and Leigh Anne tried to send their message of giving to others not only to the other people within their community, but also to their children. In the chapters written by Collins and S.J., it is apparent that they are extremely grounded children who have a great sense of who they are. While their family is definitely well off, these are not spoiled rotten kids, but they understand the idea of charity and of giving a part of oneself to others. This mentality has caused them to be truly good kids who never complained about having to “share” their lifestyle with someone else. In the chapter by S.J., he talks about how Michael was not the first person who came and slept on their couch. The Tuohys had many people come to their house to have a place to stay, so having Michael was nothing out of the ordinary for them. S.J. would constantly be open to this and would never get angry that there was someone using his things or playing on his Xbox. Instead, he would play with them and make them feel comfortable. Yet again, this makes me really inspired to be more like the Tuohys and not to take advantage of the things that I have. I am similar to S.J. in the fact that I live a nice lifestyle and have many luxuries in my life, but I aspire to be more like him and to give back like their family does. In the last chapter of the book, I read about something that Leigh Anne did that really made me feel good and made me realize how good of a person she is. There were many children from an opposing school who were unable to attend one of the basketball games because of a lack of funding. Leigh Anne realized that this was the reason that there were so few people attending the game and she decided to pay for busses to bring these children over to the game. Simple things like this are things that really can make a child feel better about themselves and can make someone’s day. This family is such an amazing family because they are so selfless; they think about others way before they think about themselves.  

In A Heartbeat-- Post 4

While short, I thought that the next chapters, written by Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock said a lot about the Tuohys and how everything that they have done appears in the eyes of a “normal” person. (Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock were the actors that played Sean and Leigh Anne in the movie). One of the first things that Tim McGraw mentions is the idea that while it takes so much heart and courage for a family to take in a child, it also takes so much courage for a child to accept this and to willingly go into a stranger’s house. Taking in Michael Oher, the Tuohys were taking a big risk. They had no idea what kind of person he was and he had no idea what type of people they were. It is a similar situation as picking up a hijacker, but to an even bigger extreme. They had no clue what they were going to be getting into, but neither did he. He was going from growing up in the projects in an all black community to suddenly living in a huge house with a wealthy white family and attending a private Christian school. The fear that Michael must have felt is unimaginable, but it is often something that is quickly overlooked. One thing that both Tim and Sandra said was that they initially did not want to do the movie and rejected the part multiple times before finally accepting it. Both of them felt that there was no way to do justice to the Tuohys and they feared misrepresenting the family and their story. The Tuohys had done something so incredible with their lives, and these actors didn’t want to portray them in an inaccurate way. The story is such a powerful story because it makes people who see the movie or read the book do a double take and think about their own lives. Sandra continuously reflected on the idea that the Tuohys are going to place a big impact on America. I think that this is a very true statement because after watching the movie. I think that many people have begun to reflect on their own lives and realized that they can do something to help others who are less fortunate, even if it isn’t something as extreme as what the Tuohys did with Michael Oher.

In A Heartbeat-- Post 3

The next chapter in the book is written by the father, Sean Tuohy. In this chapter, Sean outlines his life and his childhood, explaining how the idea of giving began in his family and what has caused him to become someone the gives to others. Sean grew up having a father that was very popular within the community and was a very good basketball coach. Sean’s father had a stroke, causing him to be handicapped and in a wheelchair, and the response of the community in the way that they helped Sean and his family was tremendous. The community, although poor, found ways to feed Sean and his siblings, being sure that although his father was no longer working, he was being taken care of. Sean had a friend, Max, who would take really good care of him. Having very little money, Sean would have to make bets with people in order to get enough money to pay for his lunch. Without even saying anything, Max would realize when Sean was hungry and would pay for his meal without saying a word. The lesson that Sean learned from this entire experience is something that I also learned and had not previously realized. Having to ask his friend to pay for his lunch would have been very embarrassing and degrading for Sean to do, but the fact that his friend realized his need and helped him without saying a word is extremely nice and makes someone like Sean feel so much better. This teaches a lesson about giving to others and about recognizing when someone is in need. While there are absolutely times when someone may be in need and you don’t know about it, when someone is in need of something and it is apparent, helping them without making them ask makes them feel so much better about themselves. Something so simple, such as giving a kid a dollar for lunch, can mean the world to them. Without having to humiliate themselves by asking for help, they can see that someone cares about them and is thinking about ways to help them without even asking.

In A Heartbeat-- Post 2

Continuing to read about the story, I learned that the Tuohys decided to do something small by giving Michael Oher a couch to sleep on for a night, and this gradually turned into them giving more to him and drastically improving his life. Offering their couch to Oher for a night was definitely not the type of charitable giving that would direct positive attention towards them, in fact it directed a lot of negative attention, but it was that small thing that caused a world of difference in Michael's life. Many people questioned the Tuohys and asked them if they had considered the dangers of letting a large black man that they didn't know into their house. This was the thought that I had, because it is something that I could never imagine my family doing. Leigh Anne Tuohy responded by putting our lives into perspective. She asked if you worry every time you cross a bridge that it will fall, every time you cross the street if you'll get hit by a car, and similar risks that we take every single day. Life is uncomfortable at times and there are risks that are taken every day, but it is the little risks that people don't realize can change a person's life. One quote from this chapter specifically stood out to me, and I'd like to end my post with it, letting my readers think about this question because it really got me thinking about changing the way that I act... "Try an experiment. At some point in the next twenty-four hours you're going to come across someone who seems of no consequence. Ask yourself if you see value in this person. It might be a young woman in a restaurant clearing off the tables. It might be the young man who parks your car in a garage. It might be someone standing on the curb at a red light or waiting at a bus stop. Pay attention to how you respond. You will glance at them, barely, and you will place some type of value on them. (You're lying if you say you don't.) You will pass right by them and if you give them a second thought, it will be this: you're better than they are." This really struck a chord with me, because as much as I'd like to say I'm a good person, I definitely think that this is true. I challenge you to try "the experiment" because I am going to. Be conscious of your actions and really ask yourself if you are giving everyone a fair chance or if you instantly judge people without even giving them a chance to prove who they really are inside.