Review: Motivational, Inspiring, Sensational, Intriguing
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 29, 2014
Second Chances-Transforming Adversity into Opportunity, written by Chuck Gallagher is a sensational book. It strikes many different emotions to his readers and I personally was a bit conflicted. On the one hand I agreed with most of it and on the other hand, I didn't. Nevertheless, it was a powerful book.Mr. Gallagher doesn't hold back that he was a convicted felon due to embezzling money. However, he takes you through the book explaining why he did it, when he got caught, his prison sentence, and more. He left behind a wife and two children due to the nature of his actions or I should say consequences. While he reflects on his past, it certainly makes you think of your own and how to possibly make better choices for a better future. Isn't that what this book is all about?From a critical thinking perspective, his message is definitely clear. Mr. Gallagher wants to help people and motivate them to do the best they can with the hand they were dealt, or that they made themselves. Unfortunately, some people are way too impatient and try to take an easy way out.He’s right in that this society is a fast-paced, gratitude now society. Everyone in this community wants things and they want it now, regardless of how much they should really take the time to wait and plant the seeds to what they want. If you don’t plant the seeds, you can’t watch something grow! People forget it takes hard work to reach success and Chuck Gallagher reminds you of that. Of course, his version of “success” is probably what most people should realize, instead of focusing on material objects, but again we are a fast paced, greedy culture focused solely on physical possessions.Another thing that I personally liked in his book was the following phrase “You made a mistake but YOU are not a mistake.” That’s a quote that should be in many people’s minds for he is right in that sometimes we do build our own “prisons.”  It is ultimately up to us, to break free as he has mentioned several times in his book, and we all do have these capabilities. People will either realize this or not.Chuck Gallagher’s book was definitely successful, but certain areas he will need to touch up on. In some areas, his book felt a bit too preachy. I’m not opposed to religion although I do identify as an atheist. In other areas the grammar was a bit lax. The grammatical errors weren't enough to detract from the overall book and most books have grammatical errors anyway, so pointing it out seems kind of moot. Still, it was definitely a motivational read even if some things mentioned, I’m still questioning. One thing is for sure, we all do have consequences to our actions, so let’s try to make the world a better place, one book at a time!