CONGRATULATIONS, BY THE WAY Some Thoughts on Kindness

In 2013, award-winning writer George Saunders delivered a speech to graduates at Syracuse University, where he teaches creative writing. The speech went viral on the Internet in short order. Saunders’s message was to encourage the graduates to emphasize kindness in their lives. As he reminisces briefly about the regrets of his own life, he wistfully references incidents when he wishes he had shown greater kindness. As narrator, Saunders has a conversational tone that is intimate, self-effacing, and encouraging. He makes note that he has limited time and moves along at a brisk pace to make the most of it. Saunders delivers this positive message clearly and simply, with no diversions. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2014]