Very Good Lives
JK Rowling
Little, Brown and Company
The Harry Potter series of books have sold more than 450 million copies, been translated into 78 languages and had eight films made from them.
One doesn’t necessarily have to have read one of the Potter books or have seen one of the Harry Potter films to have heard of author JK Rowling. She has written her first novel for adult readers, The Casual Vacancy and her first two crime novels, which she wrote under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
JK Rowling received an OBE for her services to children’s literature and supports a number of causes through her charitable trust, Volant. She is also founder and president of the children’s charity, Lumos, which works to end the institutionalisation of children globally and ensure all children grow up in a safe and caring environment.
Sales of her new book, Very Good Lives will mainly benefit Lumos.
JK Rowling was invited to deliver the commencement address at Harvard University.
On deciding what to say to the students she asked herself what she wished she’d known at her own graduation and what important lessons she had learned since.
She chose to speak to the graduating class about two topics close to her heart, the benefits of failure and the importance of imagination.
Having the courage to fail, she said, is as vital to a good life as any conventional measure of success; imagining ourselves in the space of another – particularly someone less fortunate than ourselves – is a uniquely human quality to be nurtured at all costs.
The stories she shared and the provocative questions she asked the young graduates have inspired others to consider what it means to have “a good life”.
Now in Very Good Lives, her words serve as a comfort and a call to arms for anyone, of any age, who finds themselves at a turning point. In daring to take a risk, and perhaps fail, and by harnessing the power of your imagination, we can all begin to live less cautiously and become more open to the opportunities life has to offer.
Rowling says in the book: “There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.”
Talking about the books beneficiary, JK Rowling says she founded Lumos to help end the incredibly damaging practice of institutionalisation. As many as eight million children are currently raised in institutions worldwide.
“It is my dream that within our lifetime, the very idea of institutionalising children will seem to belong to a cruel, fictional world.”
Very Good Lives is a book of few pages, but it contains thoughts and philosophies that are both accessible, useful and encouraging.
It allows a more personal glimpse into the mind of one of the most successful children's authors of all time. While it may not quite have the depth to stand comparison to the gravitas of a more serious work, Rowling’s latest book is not one to be dismissed.