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Biographies & Primers |
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Chasing Daylight:How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life
written by Gene O'Kelly
Studio : McGraw-Hill
by McGraw-Hill
Publisher : McGraw-Hill
Released : 2005-12-23
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780071471725
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 77 reviews)
List Price : $19.95
Our Price : $3.85
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Product Description |
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“Must the end of life be the worst part? Can it be made the best?” At 53, Eugene O'Kelly was in the full swing of life. Chairman and CEO of KPMG, one of the largest U.S. accounting firms, he enjoyed a successful career and drew happiness from his wife, children, family, and close friends. He was thinking ahead: the next business trip, the firm's continued success, weekend plans with his wife, his daughter's first day of eighth grade. Then in May 2005, Gene was diagnosed with late-stage brain cancer and given three to six months to live. Just like that. Now a growing darkness was absorbing the bright future he had seen for himself. He would have to change his plans, quickly, and capture what he could of his last diminishing days. Chasing Daylight is the account of his final journey. Starting from the time of his diagnosis and concluded upon his death less than four months later, this book is his unforgettable story. With startling intimacy, it chronicles the dissolution of Eugene O'Kelly's life and his gradual awakening to a more profound understanding. Interweaving unsettling details of his battle with cancer with his moment-to-moment reflections on life and death, love and success, spirituality and the search for meaning, it provides a testament to the power of the human spirit and a compelling message about how to live a more vivid, balanced, and meaningful life. Inspiring, passionate, deeply insightful, Chasing Daylight is a remarkable man's poignant farewell to a beloved world. |
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Americancivilwar.com |
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As CEO at accounting giant KPMG, Eugene O'Kelly was so immersed in his job that over the course of a decade, he managed to have lunch with his wife on weekdays just twice. His travel schedule was set 18 months out. Once, he was so obsessed with impressing a potential client that he tracked down the man's travel schedule, booked the seat next to him on a flight, schmoozed the guy all the way to Australia, landed the account, and flew immediately back to Manhattan. His Type-A ways vanished when, at age 53, a top neurosurgeon in New York told him he had late- stage brain cancer. "His eyes told me I would die soon. It was late spring. I had seen my last autumn in New York." [p.7] There are no TV-movie-style miracle treatments or extensions of his life expectancy; he's told he has maybe 3 months, and he doesn't spend any energy hoping for a cure. True to his CEO style, he creates goals for himself, lists of friends to visit for the last time; he meditates; he tries to create as many "Perfect Moments" that he can, during dinner or phone conversations with friends, and realized how few rare those moments of connection and joy were in his "previous life."[p116] "Chasing Daylight" is as much a self-criticism of his job-before- family ways as it is a meditation on time and a transition to a tranquil, spiritual state utterly foreign to him as a CEO. O'Kelly's absolutely more fulfilled by the soul work that he finishes in 100 days, compared to his 30 years of corporate promotions and accolades, and he utterly convinces readers to ponder their own situation, whether "in the gloaming" of life as he was or not.--Erica Jorgensen |
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Conventional wisdom, but still touching and uplifting |
Not everyone, in fact, only few people can be as lucky as Mr. Jobs, who was diagnosed of fatal cancer in the morning but later it turned out be a rare form which can be cured by surgery in the evening. It is always tough to be told that your days are numbered, but great lives always can be fulfilled if you don't give up no matter what, Mr. Jobs delivered that famous Stanford commencement speech which considered to be prepared for his would-be farewell speech, Randy Pausch's last lecture becomes the national bestseller, Eugene O'Kelly, then CEO of KPMG, does the same in this little book, chasing daylight.
After reading so many book about death and love, I'm convinced that death is definitely the "best single invention that could ever be created, It clears out the old to make way for the new", and O'Kelly tells you how death transformed his life from creating more money into creating more perfect moment with his family and his friends. As a man with deep religious belief, he shows his wish that he can reunite with his loved ones after death. His last 100 days is filled with love and encouragement.
It is hardly possible to be exceptional when you are about to die in months, but as countless people have shown us, everybody can, at least, be a perfect tale of grace. |
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Chasing Daylight Practically |
This book defers from other similar memoirs mainly in terms of its lack of sentimentality. It is not completely cold but the way that the author describes the process he goes through, makes you understand why he had such success career wise. He had a smooth methodological way of approaching things that enabled him to probably more quickly come to terms with his condition and deal with the matters at hand.
Who would I recommend this book to?
I would recommend this book to anyone who is dealing with death. As I went through the book I was constantly reminded of the time I had to deal with a close friend's passing. Up to 6 months before, I probably had an inkling that she was going away soon but I refused to face it. This book in a sense shows a way of dealing with death that is beautiful.
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READ THIS BOOK NOW! |
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How often we take for granted those in our lives... or more simply, that there will even be a tomorrow. This book is a reality check on our own mortality. I personally was captivated, enlightened, and saddened all at the same time and fortunately I walked away with at least two gems that will serve me well for the rest of my days... and hopefully, that's a lot of days! |
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Chasing Daylight and Finding The Light |
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This is the personal story of the author, CEO of one of the Big 3 accounting firms, one of the "relevant" people in our society, who was diagnosed as terminal with less than 6 months to live. The book covers his last few months and what he did to prepare for death, both spiritually and physically, with the last chapter written by his wife. The refreshing part of this book is that Eugene O'Kelly is such an unlikely candidate, even from his own perspective, for the spiritual journey he takes in his remaining time on the planet. No more living in the future; the future is now. He finds being in the present moment even harder than running a major corporation. His transformation leads him to learn to "let go", be in the present moment, and value the consciousness of his soul above his job and ego. He learned more in three months than most people learn in a lifetime. He viewed his terminal diagnosis as a "gift". His "gift" to us is this book. |
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Good lessons for life and preparing for death... |
Eugene O'Kelly, 53, is the CEO of the KPMG. At the height of his professional career he is diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer and has 3 months to live. O'Kelly wrote a "clinical" book about how he chose to prepare to die and shares his experience of dying. There is very little grief and rage in this book - you don't read "why me?" passages here. On the other hand, you don't get in the mind of O'Kelly or his family as to his deteriorating physical or mental condition and the challenges this presented. O'Kelly takes a "cool" accountant's approach of dealing with death including closing out his relationship ledger with 1000 of his friends and acquaintances.
One of the key messages in this book is the old adage of "living every moment as if it were your last." Here's one of the memorable passages from the book: "we were all able to focus on the here and now - the staggering natural beauty around us, the amazing things. I wanted to enjoy each meal, each walk, each talk - not the future that loomed over everything, a future in which I played no physical part."
And another passage from O'Kelly's wife Corrine:
"when you're living your everyday life with no sword (death) dangling over you, it's easy to get lost in your own orbit, as does everyone else. When you're living an extraordinary life, however, the way we all were for that incredibly long, incredible brief season from late May through early September, you come to understand awe. You come to understand strength, commitment, love, and most important, life in a way that humbles you. It was the last thing he could do for us. In plotting out his last days the way he did, he made a dreadful experience as positive as it could be for his daughters, his wife, our family, our friends, his firm."
Gene & Corrine O'Kelly's shared lessons in life (and death) are as follows:
1)Face Reality (see the big picture)
2)Simplify (acceptance: consider all aspects of your experience)
3)Live the moment (it centers you)
4)Recognize perfection (notice where you are in any given moment)
5)Achieving balance (ability to be centered wherever you are)
This book is the wake-up call for a high flying business people who reach the mountain top of their professional at the expense of more important things in life.
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