The book cover of “Dark Blue Suit” by Peter Bacho.
In “Dark Blue Suit”, I really wanted to talk about the character Charlie and the chapter “A Life Well Lived”.
In the book, this character and this chapter stood out to me the most, and out of all the books I glad it brought forward this topic and “the American Dream”.
A lot of the variations of what the “American Dream” is revolve around happiness, and that coming from “making it”.
But what is “making it”? Does it have to be monetary wealth? Reaching a higher class in society? Leaving your mark on the world? Having and raising a family?
Why does it have to be something physical? Something tangible to others? Something you can show and say, “Here’s the proof. I have the ‘American Dream’.”
That’s why I liked Charlie. As far as how most view the “American Dream”, he didn’t achieve it, but to myself he did, by not giving up on his values even though it would mean a life that much more closely resembled the typical “American Dream”.
He chose being able to live comfortably in himself/with himself, than to live comfortably in the physical world around him, which I think is more important.
