Book Review: "The Why Cafe" by John Strelecky
by Ruby Bayan - 06/20/06
John Strelecky’s first book, The Why Café, is certainly one of the most inspirational and motivational works I have read. But while most inspirational books present their ideas and solutions in step-by-step bulleted lists, you-can-do-it mantras, or 30-day guaranteed-new-you programs, this handy gift book presents its life-altering concepts through a short story.
Although you’ll quickly regard the book as light reading because of its format, as you move from one chapter to the next, you are inclined to pause and reflect. The conversations between John, Casey, Mike, and Anne, are simple and easy to understand, but the meanings and analogies can compel deep thought. In a very subtle manner, the narrative challenges us to apply the concepts to our own lives and circumstances.
The concepts are straightforward: “Why are you here?” “Do you fear death?” “Are you fulfilled?”
The Why Café tells of how John discovered these questions and the reasons they are important in every person’s existence. John relates how each of us can answer these questions on our way to discovering and living our purpose for existing. By sharing stories about themselves and others, Mike, Casey, and Anne help John—and the reader—explore the answers to the quintessential “meaning of life.”
The simplicity and complexity of this book reminds me of the impact of works like “The Little Prince” and “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” – profound and insightful classics in the guise of ordinary lighthearted stories. These are books that can be read many times, at various milestones in one’s life, where each sitting brings a new enlightenment—a new “aha!” moment.
If there’s one book that will make you say that like John Strelecky you once were lost but now you’re found… The Why Café is the one.
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