No, that’s not a statement on getting on with the bookish discussions. Well, kinda. Enough About Me is the title of a book by MSNBC anchor Richard Lui. It’s about “the unexpected power of selflessness” and released in March 2021. It’s a blend of self-help, research, memoir and some dad-style jokes.
Tackling selflessness in a self-help book amused me. It seems slightly counterintuitive, and some of the arguments made on the page follow suit. After learning of the benefits of selflessness, does it then become selfish to do things for the improved perception of appearance (which Lui bravely tested with his own photograph) or positive impact on your own health? There is no clear answer there, so please, discuss.
Lui uses moments from his journalistic career to prove that there are selfless people out and about in the world, even when we tend to see the rougher side of things. He shares stories of people he met and how he went outside of the typically safe boundaries to have those moments. That includes taking a ride into a “no-go zone” in France amid the search for a terrorist. He took an Uber and the driver who didn’t speak English turned into his day-long tour guide. Lui challenges the reader to think beyond our initial perspective, writing, “So which was it– an area that harbored terrorists or a place where families lived their lives? The answer can be both. Extremism can coexist with delicious halal sandwiches. That doesn’t make for a good political attack ad, but it’s true.”
There are several insights into the world of broadcast journalism that, as someone in that field, put a smile on my face with their accuracy. For someone who isn’t familiar with that realm, it offers a behind the scenes look at how tough the job can be. There’s also some lessons from this industry that translates to pretty much everyone. The one that sticks out the most to me is, “What happens off camera is more important than what happens on camera.” That can easily apply to what we show on social media and the selflessness of doing good for the sake of someone else instead of for likes, shares, and attention.
I found the most compelling parts of the book to be those about Lui’s personal history. If you aren’t familiar with his story, Lui took a step back from his job on national TV to help care for his father who has Alzheimer’s Disease. Ballsy move, but one that he was fortunate enough to be able to take. Lui shares about his grandfather’s journey to America as an illegal immigrant called a “paper son” and that process, which is something I had never heard of.
While I struggled with the pacing at times due to the more number-driven research, my biggest critique of Enough About Me is the parenthetical comments. I get that it’s an attempt to weave Lui’s personality throughout the book, but it often felt like more of a distraction than an addition to the content. There are some dad jokes in the parentheses that made me smirk, but overall, I could have done without many of them.
I’m tempted to knock it down to 3.5 stars for the dad jokes, but the message is necessary enough to warrant a full 4 stars. (That and I not-so-low-key loved the slam on Ohio State as a no-go zone. Go Blue!)
Order your copy of Enough About Me here.
Literary HypeWoman 