And You Know You Should Be Glad audiobook

This is an extremely touching book about Greene's loss of a childhood friend to cancer. I loved the fact that this book was written by a man and that he and four other men had maintained their friendhip since their childhoods. I also really enjoyed the fact that Greene was able to reach deep down and tap into his emotions about his dying friend. Honestly, what really got me about this book is that I lost my college roomate to cancer last year. Our third roommate, who like Greene was out of town, came back repeatedy to see her and to spend time with her while she was sick. I was the lucky one, I was in the same town where she was hopitalized, but Donna made trip after trip to Indiana to make sure that Chris knew how much she loved and supported her. Here's to B,C, and D.

Loving this book..Bob Greene is an exceptional writer.

I love Bob Greene's books and have recommended them to friends, but recently I read several articles calling into question his morals and professionalism. I was disappointed at best, sad and disgusted that he jeopardized his career and undoubtedly, lost many readers due to his poor choices. Yes, I loved the book, but do not admire the author. The book documents a 47 year friendship, from kindergarten, through high school hi-jinks, marriage. long running jokes, and concludes with the death of a friend. Well written, sad and touching...but I am now wondering if he made up any of it!

Sure, this book is about the loss of a friend, but it's also about how a deep and lasting friendship is made. Bob Greene, the greatest living writer, shares in a moving story how his friend, Jack, gets through his last days of fighting cancer in their home town of Bexley, Ohio.As is usual for Greene, he examines small things, in this case memories of days gone by, and develops the idea that those memories live on and create the bonds of being friends.The title comes from a Beatles' song; the group was a large part of 1964, when Greene and his friends were driving around, listening to the radio. And the book is like a tune: There's the carefree feeling of youth, of hanging out during the summers, of listening to songs on the radio and sharing experiences. But there's also the underlying soundtrack of despair as Jack gets weaker in his end days and Bob and Allen, Chuck and Dan, the ABCDJ group, hear it as they visit Jack.Greene is one of the only writers who can make me laugh and tear up in the same book. His insights are amazing and his prose is perfect. I've always said this: I understand every word that Bob writes, but it's the order in which he places those words that make his writing the best out there.This is a tough book to read. I first read it a few years after my wife passed away with kidney failure. I read it again in an interim between loss and then read it just now, thinking of a good friend who died two summers ago after dealing with heart issues.For anyone with a friend, this is a book to read. Like I said, it's rough and sad, but it's also a celebration of what makes friendships. Jack, it sounds, would be a good friend to anyone and Bob was blessed to have him as his best friend.

If you are lucky enough to have friends that you have known since grade school, you will relate to this book about Bob and his childhood friends facing the illness of one of their number. Heartbreaking to read, you can imagine it happening to your own group of friends. I saw my husband and his best friends (only his was to Alzheimer disease instead of cancer)... Bob Greene always writes from the heart.

Good StoryNice, casual story of a long lasting friendship. Few of us have the opportunity to have friendships like these. I would recommend.

TouchingI have read Greene's writings for many years as I was a Chicagoan. His style of writing makes you feel like you are in the process room with him as the story transpires.

This book really touched my soul. What a wonderful ode to a lifelong friendship. Jack Roth, a great man.

No one should suffer a slow death from cancer, but it seems especially tragic when that person is as nice as Jack Roth. Bob Greene’s homage to his lifelong friend Jack is a wonderfully personal evocation of growing up in the 50s and 60s in a small town in Ohio and a celebration of friendship and love. Reading it reminded me of the opening line to The Girl Next Door by Brad Parks: “To anyone who says newspapers only print bad news, I say: read the obituaries” and a later comment in the same book, “One sign of a well-led life is that you have great stories to tell when it is over.” By that standard, Jack Roth had a very good life. Bob was very fortunate to have a friend like Jack, and we are equally fortunate Jack had a friend like Bob to tell his story. This book WILL make you cry, but it will also make you laugh. If you are lucky it will remind you of good times from your own life.If you enjoy this book (and, if the concept appeals to you, I am confident you WILL enjoy it), I recommend Greene’s novel All Summer Long, which clearly was inspired by the friendship he tells us about in this book

Back in HS, I read Greene's book, "Be True to Your School" and loved it. (I'm certain I still have a battered copy laying around at my parents'.) Somehow, though, I'd never connected the author of that book to the other books he'd written. Only when I received an email that "And You Know You Should Be Glad" did it suddenly click that this was all the same guy.Despite the fact that "Be True to Your School" is set in 1964, something about it resonated with me. (I suppose teenage angst is the same no matter the decade.) I felt like the guys of ABCDJ were good friends of mine. Reading this book was like being reunited with old, close friends, but in the saddest way possible. Greene has a way of writing about the passage of time that strikes a chord with me. I'm not sure that I would have enjoyed this book so much without having read "Be True to Your School" first, but I'm glad I stumbled upon this one.

Just as satisfying a read as Greene's earlier Be True to Your School. Bob Greene shares with readers the joy and unspoken intimacy of his friendship with Jack Roth, which spanned the years from their meeting in kindergarten to Roth's death from cancer when they were in their late 50's. How fortunate they were to participate in a friendship that evolved as they explored the wonders of the childhood hometown, engaged in teenage escapades, grew independently through their choices of colleges and careers, and committed to lives shared with wives and families in different states and cities. Through it all, their friendship was a trusted and abiding bond.

In the memoir And You Know You Should Be Glad: A True Story of Lifelong Friendship, author and journalist Bob Greene recounts a story of a friendship that began in kindergarten and carried through to his friend Jack Roth’s death in 2004, fifty-two years later. There are plenty of heartwarming and funny reminiscences throughout the book as the author slides easily back and forth from present-day to the youngsters’ growing-up years. A poignant and nostalgic look at love and friendship and what truly matters.

My third 5 star book in a row! A beautiful memoir written about the long friendship, beginning in kindergarten, of two men, the author and Jack, who, at the age of 57, has developed terminal cancer. With much humor and warmth, Greene intermingles the story of their childhood friendship and how he, and three other close friends help Jack deal with his illness. It is beautifully told and is much more positive than depressing despite the known ending.

This book was a very easy and enjoyable read. It tells the story of how friendship, true friendship, can bouy us up when the chips are down. The author is very good at weaving the story of how the friendships were formed as he tells of living with adult problems. The stories of friendships are usually told from a woman's point of view. This was unusual to me because it is strictly the story of five men. It is a very touching and sensative story.