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Thursday Book Club: Chasing Daylight
May 17, 2007
Last summer, this book, Chasing Daylight, became known to me. It is the story of the last few months of the life of Gene O’Kelly, CEO of KPMG. Mr. O’Kelly learned in May of 2005 that he had inoperable brain cancer and was given 6 months to live. This book talks about how he handled his death, managing it like a business transaction. Sad? Absolutely. Is it meant to leave you with a Carpe Diem attitude? Okay, if that is what you need from it.
Me, I liked his business message and how he let his inner sales person out. In one story (my fave), he flies 23 hours to Sydney to meet with a guy that he simply could not nail down for an appointment. Learning that the man would be on an airplane between two Australian cities the following day, O’Kelly hopped on a plane from New York and booked the seat next to him, just for a 90 minute period of time and then flew home immediately thereafter.
He uses golf analogies along the way to discuss relationships and time and faith and humanity and mortality. I was deeply moved by the message. Reading it was kind of like watching the movie “Titanic” or rooting for the pre-2004 Boston Red Sox. I mean, you know what’s coming. But it is a different kind of book and I choose to make it my Thursday selection.
Posted by Bill Farquharson on May 17, 2007 | Comments (0)
