The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews

I read this book for my job's book club. I liked about 25% of the book, and that was the historical parts. Everything else, I felt, was common sense, conceited, and unemotional. Don't get me wrong. I agree with the 7 principles, and that everyone is responsible for themselves, but the author seems to have no concept of mental illnesses. To him, mental illnesses like depression are choices. We choose to be depressed. I just feel this is absolutely wrong, because most people do not ask for medical diseases.

Which leads to the unemotional. The messages were about accepting responsibility for feeling the way one does. It's our reaction to a situation that is the problem. Again, this is wrong and potentially dangerous. The author is telling individuals that we as a society should not be conscious of the world around us. That we should only care about ourselves and how we react. But as a society, if we do not feel compassion, anger, sadness, then how do we grow and learn from our mistakes? Case in point, the connection with Anne Frank. Her book has brought to light how millions of Jews were feeling during a horrific time. If we do not have compassion for this moment, if we did not feel the horror of that time, how do we prevent it from occurring again?

Overall, I rated it 2 out of 5. The writing style is good, and the historical visits are accurate to the point of convincing. But that's the only good thing I can say about it.