Joseph M. Marshall III, Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance (New York: Sterling, 2006)

I am finding Joseph Marshall’s book to be very instructive for this phase of my life. Marshall is probably the best interpreter of Lakota values and customs for a non-Lakota audience and I have read several of his books. This book is deeply personal. The use of the story to teach a deep lesson about life makes the concept of persistence accessible and meaningful for the reader.

I read a lot of devotional stories and books in my work. This book is deeply devotional to me, but it doesn’t follow the pattern or use the language that is common to many Christian devotional books. It is a reach for depth that connects humans of different religions. Instead of looking for practices that we hold in common, Marshall reaches to the deepest, core values and there discovers a common humanity that touches others deeply.

I plan to re-read this book at another point in my life, when I have become a grandfather of adults. I suspect that I will see an entirely different perspective and encounter new truths in the exercise.