Book Review – Chasing the Light of Day by Eugene O’Kelly
As a person who has read hundreds of business books, especially those about successful entrepreneurs, I have a fair ability to review and rate business books. I’ve read biographies on Henry Ford, Richard Branson, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and even Martha Stewart, but I’ve never read a book like Eugene O’Kelly’s Chasing Daylight.
Eugene O’Kelly was an amazing, successful, and down-to-earth man. He had two daughters, a wife who was his only true companion in life, and he had worked his way up to becoming CEO of the multi-million dollar company, KPMG. Most Americans would agree that he had it all; a big family, a well-respected high-paying job, and tons of friends. However, after serving as CEO for just two years, he began to notice his health deteriorating. One side of his face was slightly drooping and showing signs of paralysis. Also, headaches that I thought were stress-related were starting to be worrisome.
O’Kelly took time out of his busy schedule and long days to visit his doctors and have his head and brain scans. The results were appalling; He had three golf ball-sized tumors in three different parts of his brain that had been there so long that the tissue was dead, rendering it inoperable. Doctors told him that his prognosis was very bad and that he should only hope to live three more months. Chemotherapy and radiation were options that could possibly give you a few more months of life, but would also greatly decrease your quality of life.
O’Kelly realized within hours of her diagnosis that she would be making the most of the time she had left. He immediately resigned from his CEO position at KPMG, but agreed to stay for a few weeks to ensure a smooth transition. While most people sat down and got very depressed and angry, O’Kelly wanted to stay active and die in the best way possible. This included calling all the people in his life who had been closest to him, starting with those he was close to, but not incredibly close like his family. These people included co-workers, college roommates, and family friends. He knew that talks and meetings with these people could be potentially awkward as it is very difficult to say a final goodbye, but he moved on. What he found was that these meetings were very pleasant and brought him a happiness in his life that he never expected. He created hundreds of what he called “perfect moments” where everything seemed like it couldn’t be better.
As time passed, Eugene filled his day with more friendly get-togethers and time with his two daughters and his wife, Corinne. His vision began to blur and fade and his motor skills were deteriorating. He felt the need to relax and find inner peace, and he found it one day while in a park. The sound of a water fountain and the peaceful thought of water flowing from one place to another allowed him to enter a peaceful area. It was so peaceful that her daughter bought her a fountain for her home so she could relax anytime she wanted. The book also mentions that Eugene would rent a boat and take his family on day trips just to relax and be near the water.
The way Eugene handled his upcoming death was truly amazing. It’s scary to think about the date of your death, but Eugene managed to overcome fear and depression and make the most of each day. He traveled with his daughters, took time to meditate and relax with his wife, and told his family how much he loved them and that his brother was an amazing father. In addition, he had the admirable idea of writing a book to document his transition from the physical world to the spiritual world. This book is meant to show that knowing the date of your own death can be a blessing and allow you to realize how good life can be. Not only could he speculate on his own life and death, but the book gave him one last project to work on with his wife, Corinne.
Corinne was portrayed as a magnificent woman numerous times in this book. It is evident that Eugene was thinking of her world and they were truly in love. When Eugene was writing the book and knew that he could not continue writing until the last day of his life, he enlisted Corinne to help him finish writing. She contributed several sections to close the book, documenting what we can learn from Eugene O’Kelly’s life and his last days. His wife gives us advice on how to live our lives, how to face each moment as it comes and live in the present. Eugene and Corinne discovered that they had a much better life when they stopped worrying about the future and what will happen in six months or a year.
The end of the book is encouraging but at the same time disturbing. As Corinne writes about the last three or four days of her husbands’ lives, you begin to realize how special she was. O’Kelly became extremely weak and inactive and was bedridden in the last days of his life. He fought as hard as he could, but finally knew that he would die in the next few days. He was surrounded by family, including his daughter, wife and sister-in-law when he said goodbye and died. Corinne comments that even though everyone was very sad, it was a joyous moment to know that he was in a better place and that his strong faith in God would take him to heaven.
This book is very emotional and will open your eyes to the meaning of life and death. After reading, I felt how everyone has the ability to be more productive and have a better life. An easy step is to call the people you love and tell them. One of the joys of being human is that we can communicate our emotions and make each other smile. It doesn’t take long to make a phone call to someone you care or even write a short email to tell someone you care about that person. If you take the time to make a call or send an email, you are likely to feel more optimistic and even smile more often. This book is one that everyone should read. Eugene O’Kelly was a spectacular person and we should all live to live the rest of our lives as the last three months of his. This book has a definitive rating of 5 out of 5.