Book Report - The noticer

Title - The Noticer

Author - Andy Andrews


Description: Poverty. A failing marriage. Old age. Lost Dreams. A failing business. An unsure future. To the residents of Orange Beach, Alabama, these desperations are dead ends. Hopeless, barren places with no chance to change.
But an old drifter named Jones with a gift for seeing what others miss, there is no such thing as a dead end. It only takes a little "perspective" he says, to recognize the miracles in our moments, the seeds of greatness tucked in our struggles.
As Jones mysteriously makes his way through this coastal town and into the searching hearts of its residents, he offers simple wisdom and sound hope.
"My contention is that you are right where you are supposed to be. This may look like barren sand to you, but nothing could be further from the truth. I say to you as you lay your head down tonight, you are sleeping on fertile ground. THINK, LEARN, PRAY, PLAN, DREAM. For soon you will become."

My thoughts: This was one of those books that didn't just entertain me. It touched me. Do you ever look are a situation from the outside and the solution seems SO obvious, but when you are among the situation you can't see anything clearly? This is the "perspective" that Jones gives people. One thing in this book that really spoke to me was, it said we often judge ourselves by our intentions, but others by their actions. I intended to take a friend dinner after her surgery, and I intended to write a thank you note, and I intended to visit a lonely neighbor. After all my intentions, It's amazing I have a moment left to my family in any given day. But I never did any of them... So then all my friends sees after her surgery is that no one cared or bothered to bring by a meal for her family while she recovered, or the lonely neighbor is once again reassured that she has no value or purpose for someone to give her a few moments of time. I think "It's the thought that counts" only counts when you have taken action, that didn't maybe turn out as good as you planned. The thought only would have counted if I HAD taken my friend dinner, only to find out that they couldn't eat specifically what I sent. It's the thought that counts of the thank you card came a little later than it should have. It's the thought that counts, if I can only visit for 20 minutes, because 20 is better than nothing at all.
If you life is a mess, it is only a mess up until this very moment. You can change, Right now. Change doesn't take time, it can happen in an instant... what will take time is your reputation and people's opinions of you. You can tell people that you are different all you want, but they will need to SEE the change in you.

ok I could go on and on because I really liked this book, so I will stop before I give everything away... Go get this book now, I promise you will not be disappointed.