Mother Knows Best

Promises I Made My Mother by Sam Haskell, with David Rensin

Grade: A

Genre: Book

I met Sam Haskell personally and can honestly say that he is one of the nicest and most positive people I have ever met, so I may be biased without realizing it as I am writing my opinion of his book. His book Promises I Made My Mother is an inspirational collection of stories from his own life. His book is not autobiographical but, rather, a collection of stories that relate to each of the lessons that he learned from a wonderful woman – his mother. His stories come from all stages of his life, from when he was a boy scout in Mississippi till after he retired from being an agent in Hollywood.

One such story that I really enjoyed reading about was the one of his undying faith that the “Cheer Man” would come to his house out of all the houses in the U.S. when he was a boy, and after many people mocked him for having such a wild dream the “Cheer Man” really did come to his house.

One aspect that I really like about how this book was written is how Haskell admits to all the mistakes he made in his stories and does not try to portray himself as a perfect human being. Even though it may seem like he grew up with the perfect life at first, the reader later reads of his hardships such as his parents’ divorce and the incidences that happened his last few years at the William Morris Agency. Knowing this, it is a book that everyone can relate to when they read it because they have the assurance that they are not reading some book written by some sheltered, naive person who grew up in the perfect life in the South. I think that anyone who reads this book can at least find one story they can relate to.

He may mention the faults of some of the people he encountered in his life, but it is only for the purpose of telling his stories which have a deeper meaning, rather than a way of making certain people look bad. He usually points out the strengths in people throughout his book. I really enjoyed reading about the integrity and great characters of some of Haskell’s clients such as Dolly Parton and Ray Romano as I read his stories.

This book definitely made me laugh and it also made me cry. It is the type of book that leaves you feeling positive and with a feeling that you can accomplish anything you set your heart to. All the way through this book I saw it as completely honest and well written. It is hard to find anything to complain about. It is definitely a worthwhile read.