The Pact

Yesterday I read The Pact, a book by three doctors in New Jersey who made an agreement when they were in high school that they would all rise out of their home environments and attend medical school. After I finished reading it, I handed it to Ben and told him I want him to read it, too.

It was an amazing story. The stuff movies are usually made of. In fact, I am surprised it hasn't been adapted into a screenplay yet - I'm sure it will be fairly soon. These young men truly came from childhood situations that are foreign to a girl from Minnesota... two of the three spent time in jail, all three flirted with gangs to different levels, none of them had a father in their lives, all had someone close ... a sibling, a parent, many friends ... who were on drugs. Yet somehow each of them had at least one adult in their lives who recognized the potential in them and brought feelings of self-worth to their young souls, and all three eventually made it through medical school, and all three are practising physicians back in the area they grew up in.

It speaks to the power of the human spirit. It speaks to the importance of believing in a child, because you never know if your one interaction with him or her could change a life forever. It gives hope to the darkest areas of our nation - awareness that there are good people who want to improve the neighborhoods, the homes, the lives of those who live there. It speaks to the incredible power of friendship, trust, and being there for others. And it speaks to the importance of holding on to dreams, not giving up even when you make terrible mistakes, but forgiving yourself and continuing on.

I highly recommend it.