“…the message is
effectively universal.”
Living Fulfilled: The
Infectious Joy of Serving Others is Lisa Thomas-McMillan's inspirational memoir
about helping the plight of America's hungry that is equal parts harrowing and
uplifting. With a decidedly spiritual message, she tells of her life growing up
impoverished in Alabama, settling down in Los Angeles, and then traveling back
to her hometown to help the plight of the poor. She is also a fierce advocate
against the death penalty. What makes Lisa Thomas-McMillan such an effective
narrator is that she literally walks the walk. The book is punctuated by two
long walks - one in Alabama, and a 900-mile trek from Alabama to Washington DC
to raise awareness. She also raises spiritual awareness within herself. The
book is at once a call to arms for volunteerism and a powerful spiritual
message.
Even
as she is witness to so many people's misery, author Thomas-McMillan is filled
with joy and hope - the joy of being a servant to a greater cause. Though the
spiritual message will be quite meaningful to those who share her faith, it may
be so strong as to put some people off, which is a shame because her intentions
are so worthwhile. Hunger, or even the death penalty, are not religious
principles, so one doesn't need theology to understand their impact. If
Thomas-McMillan's goal is to bring attention to these pressing issues, the book
could have had a more universal message. There's a significant percentage of
readers who will be sympathetic to her cause, but less sympathetic to her
beliefs. However, this is Thomas-McMillan's story, and she tells it with great
empathy and enthusiasm. So whatever religious reflections there may be should
not dissuade any reader from giving the book a try. Her main message is that
people should help to take care of others. That may be Jesus' message, but it's
also common sense, so beyond whatever proselytizing there may be, the core of
the book is uplifting and effective.
Review
Over
15 million children face hunger only in the United States; think about Africa
or Asia, and how many go hungry there? Eleze “Lisa” Thomas-McMillan of the
Carlisa Inc. food bank in US took up just that mission- eradicating hunger from
the world. In the book “Living Fulfilled:
The Infectious Joy of Serving Others”, Thomas-McMillan educates us that we
could have everlasting joy in helping the poor, needy and the hungry. The book
is a biography as well as a testament to Thomas-McMillan’s philosophy and
mission: if we all live for one another instead of for ourselves, no one will
go hungry or have to endure the many sufferings that accompany a life of
poverty.
In
her memoir, Thomas-McMillan describes how her family of fourteen was squeezed
into a six room wooden house in Brewton, Alabama. Her father worked three jobs
and brought them up so that they could turn out to be community helpers. She
settled in Los Angeles later on, but returned home with a mission.
For
spreading awareness about the plight of the hungry in the US, Thomas-McMillan
walked over 1500 miles across the states of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina,
North Carolina, Virginia and at last reaching Washington DC, spreading her
wings of compassion about the poor in the States and giving away free food. Her
message is simple: no one should go hungry. Living
Fulfilled is part biography and part call to action for helping the poor and
the hungry. The book is littered with inspiring and afflicted accounts from the
author’s own troublesome beginnings.
On
her journey to Washington DC from her hometown she encountered hungry people.
She fed them and talked to them, listened to their stories, encountered other
challenges but at last she did reach her destination. A whole chapter is
dedicated to this great ‘pilgrimage’ which evokes images of Martin Luther King
who took great walks in the name of freedom.
Aside
from the inspirational accounts from the life of this great philanthropist, the
memoir is also a great read for any social worker who wants to do something
good for his/her community or be someone who doesn’t just live for himself but
for the welfare of his fellow humans, because that is where, according to
Thomas-McMillan, true joy is to be sought.
The
book is also a sort of volunteering manifesto, where everything from why to
make donations to how to help the poor is explained. Almost everyone will find
the book a great read , but not everyone will sense the great purpose of the
book- the infectious joy of serving others - unless the reader finds his own
strength and does something for the community, because joy can only be
experienced.
Although
written by a US author primarily for eradicating hunger and poverty in her
local area and the States, the message is effectively universal. The spiritual
awakenings are part of the reason for the author’s dedication to her mission.
The
religious connotation of the book is a bit offsetting for some people, but ‘Living Fulfilled’ is Thomas-McMillan’s
own memoir and no one else can have a say in that. Aside from the religious
element, the book is choke-filled with motivational messages for volunteerism,
philanthropy and community work all for the sake of a truly fulfilled life.
“…the message is
effectively universal.”
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