The memoir
The Good Thing Is
Scalpel, Spotlight, and the Fight No One Saw
Build everything. Lose the plan. Now what.
This book was never about me. It's about you.
Full draft written. Adding essays now.
Four parts
- Build
- Lead
- Break
- Rebuild
Finding the good thing does not mean calling the bad thing good. It means refusing to let the bad thing become the only thing that is true.
From “Go Make Things Better”
Competition day. All these fancy contraptions tossed off the roof. A few small parachutes worked. Most didn't. Kids rushed to their contraptions when they hit the ground, eager to see if the egg broke.
Then this cloth bag full of nobody knew what was tossed from the roof.
People were like, what is that.
I didn't rush to the bag to find out. I already knew.
Egg survived.
From “I Smile”
There is a field down from our house. My four kids and I would go out there and run football drills. Not really a game. Drills. Everyone strapped on their flags. The point was for them to try to pull mine. I would start down the field, say go, then run and spin and twist away while they all chased me.
This was tiring. Not just from an aerobic standpoint. I began to get stiff. It was harder to run and move and twist. In between every rep, I would pause and crouch down with my hand on the football.
My son Weston was three years old. Every single time I crouched down, he would come running up and tap my hand on the football and say play hard Isi.
From “The Last Day”
I almost never ran the music in my room. That day I ran all of it. Called the songs when I wanted them. Fight Song. Shotgun. And the one I needed us to end on. Good Riddance. Time of Your Life.
I asked Ryan to do the karaoke. He laughed me off. I asked again. The room got on him until he gave it up. A few bars. Red-faced. Dragged into it. By the chorus nobody needed him. I'd scrubbed out by then, hood still on. We belted it out at the top of our lungs. The anesthesiologist. Ashley. Pat. Ryan. Me. Every voice in the room. A goodbye song, and not one of them knew it was one.
I don't know how I didn't cry.
From “The Good Thing Is”
When you close it, sit quietly, whatever that looks like for you. Think about your life and where you're at. What feels important to you. Your goals, short term and long term. Then fast forward to the end of your life and think back to those goals. Were they the most important ones. Are they what matter to you most. Then think about the blessings in your life. Keep those close. Focus on those goals.
Tomorrow there's a sprinkler to fix.
The good thing is, this is just the beginning.
