Book #23: TOM BROKAW - A Long Way from Home, Growing Up in the American Heartland

A lot happened in 1983, the year I was born:

• M*A*S*H ended it's episodes on CBS;
• Sally Ride becomes the first woman in space, aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger;
• Vanessa Williams is crowned Miss America;
• New release movies included "Return of the Jedi," "Flashdance," and "Risky Business";
• President Ronald Reagan declares the third Monday of January Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day;
• McDonald's introduces the McNugget;
• Michael Jackson was singing "Billie Jean" and "Beat It";
• Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program is launched; and
• Tom Brokaw became the lead anchor on NBC Nightly News.

In this reflective book of memories and adventures, Tom Brokaw shares stories of growing up in America's heartland, and of the people, the culture, and the values that shaped him in his youth and still today.

...I happened to be born in the right place at the right time, and to the right set of parents, who did not limit my dreams of of a different kind of life.

I grew up with Tom Brokaw, watched him religiously every evening around suppertime on NBC Nightly News....and I still do today, only with Brian Williams as lead anchor. Brokaw's calm demeanor, strong voice, and charm affected my youth. I quickly learned that the small-town environment of western Kentucky, where I was born and raised, was just a small piece of the bigger world. As I read this book, though, I appreciate my life in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in a new sense, with enriched pride.  

...whenever I return I am at peace, and always a little excited to know that this place has a claim on me...I've come to understand how important those early influences of family, place, and values were in making this life possible. I also know never to take any of this for granted, as I still live with the influences of failures as well as of success...I could not be the man I am today without the boy I was yesterday, in a far-off place and a long time ago.

Reading this reflection of Brokaw's made me smile in more instances because its truth rang home for me too. Brokaw was raised in a close-knit family where hard, honest work provided stability and a good home life. The entire community was an extended day-care center is very personal to me, especially in the days of Lollipop Daycare, or one of the homes of my many friends and relatives in Henderson or Webster County.

Daily life revolved around work, family, school, church, and community.

Great book - loved it. This book recounts Brokaw's life from birth to age 22 in small-town, South Dakota. As a fan, I would love to see a book by Tom of his years in mainstream journalism, especially as the White House correspondent from 1976 to 1981 and his adventures as lead anchor on NBC Nightly News. I can only imagine the places he's seen, the people he's met, and the stories he's heard along the way.....a memoir perhaps, Mr. Brokaw?!