The Measure of a Man

I just finished reading Sidney Poitier's The Measure of a Man. I don't think I have much to say about the book itself--I guess the practice of it is what I would recommend. Poitier explores his past, in the hopes of learning something about himself, and offers this to the world, in the hopes that we, as readers, might learn something about ourselves, about life, through his experiences. It's a generous effort, one for which I am grateful, for it forces me to think about my own life, to examine myself and my motives, the things that lie deep beneath the surface and bubble up in various ways. I'm not sure that Poitier's experiences captivated me, but the willingness to set it out for the world just in case it might benefit the cause of others is a risky and generous move, and perhaps it might lead us to consider how we might offer our experiences to the world. What have we learned, and how can we share that with others?

And just in case you're curious, Sneakers isn't mentioned in this book. I love that movie.