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You Are Not Special: ...And Other Encouragements Audiobook
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Publisher Description
David McCullough, Jr.'s high school commencement address of 2012, dubbed "You Are Not Special," was a tonic for children, parents, and educators alike. With wit and a perspective earned from raising four children and teaching high school students for nearly thirty years, McCullough expands on his speech—taking a hard look at hovering parents, questionable educational goals, professional college prep, electronic distractions, and club sports—and advocates for a life of passionate engagement.
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“McCulloughreally gets where kids are coming from—he understands them on a level that’s,like, micro…When it comes to closing the gap that exists between teens andadults, McCullough proves an expert bridge builder. In his book, he uses hisnow-famous speech as a jumping-off point, encouraging young people to cultivateintellectual curiosity, compassion, and self-reliance. He also demystifiesparental behavior—an undertaking for which he’s overqualified as a father of four.Smart but not condescending, knowing but never a know-it-all, McCullough—alongtime high school teacher—issues small admonishments to teens (text less,read more) in a tone that’s exceedingly collegial.”
— BookPage
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“Every year, thousands of high school and college commencement speakers deliver ringing homilies about climbing the ladder of personal success. At Massachusetts’s Wellesley High School, David McCullough, Jr., delivered a graduation message so different from such moral uplift that it soon became a viral sensation. This mild-mannered high school teacher made a sensation by suggesting that graduates seek involvement with life, not grasp after corporate success or stardom. For many parents and graduates, this tough-love talk struck a chord of deep agreement. (P.S. McCullough is the son of famed historian David McCullough.)”
— Barnes&Noble.com, editorial review -
“To open You Are Not Special…and Other Encouragements is to enter a deeply intellectual and thought-out analysis of the forces that shape modern teenage life, both at home and in the classroom…This is essential reading.”
— Swellesley Report -
“McCullough scores an A+ with this volume for teens and parents. Rich in literary references and poetic in cadence, the author...offers plenty of hilarious and pointed comments on teens and today’s society.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“The author tackles big issues…with searching sincerity, open-heartedness, and a deft, light touch.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
“In his commencement speech at Wellesley High School, where he teaches English, McCullough told graduating students they weren’t special: ‘Even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you.’ The speech went viral. Here McCullough expands on the idea that students should rethink the standard definition of success.”
— Library Journal -
“Every once in a long while, a voice seems to come out of nowhere, and you wonder how you ever managed without [it]. David McCullough Jr. has that startling, insightful, wry, reassuring, helpful voice, and You Are Not Special may be the wisest ‘parenting’ book I’ve read in decades.”
— Madeline Levine, author of The Price of Privilege and Teach Your Children Well -
“A clear-eyed but affectionate polemic urging kids to stop trying to be perfect and to take chances, even at the risk of failing. A profound celebration of the life well lived.”
— Clayton Christensen, professor of business administration, Harvard Business School
Awards
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A BookPage Top Pick, May 2014
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About the Authors
David McCullough Jr. is an English teacher at Wellesley High School. His speech at the school’s 2012 commencement, dubbed “You Are Not Special,” went viral on the Internet, with over two million views on YouTube. He is the son of Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David McCullough and lives in Sudbury, Massachusetts, with his wife and four children.