Keep Moving and Other Tips and Truths About Aging
by Dick Van Dyke (published 2015)
In this memoir, we get to see the spirit of Dick Van Dyke and what has kept him young-at-heart through the years. He talks in length about his attitude toward life and others, his activity, and the way he has kept on keeping on. Mr. Van Dyke has shown us through his funny and insightful writings that life gets better as you age and experience things. When he wrote this book, he was in his ninth DECADE of show-business. Now that is longevity!
Old age is something that Mr. Van Dyke should be very familiar with yet he tells us several times in his book that he finds himself looking around and thinking “Am I old?” He has decided that age is just as number and you only feel as old as you let yourself. He encourages the read to be active (dance is best, of course), take changes with a smile, and live the life you want to life; don’t let fear or society talk you into something less than your dreams.
Now, with that being said, he also does not allow for excuses. If something doesn’t work out, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and give it another go or change your dream. He does not allow excuses to dictate any of his life.
I found that one of the things that stuck with me most about Mr. Van Dyke is the measuring stick he uses for choosing which projects he would be a part of. He said that if he would not let his children see that work, he should not be doing it. In this way, he never participated in anything that he regrets. That says a lot to me about the type of person Mr. Van Dyke is.
I also really enjoyed the chapter he titled “Ninety Year – A Report Card.” In this chapter, he talks about memorable things from various years of his life. From important books to movies, from his own work to the work of others who influenced him (think Laurel and Hardy or The Benny Goodman Orchestra), this chapter was in interesting overview of the years and things that happened. And each one received a grade – A to F.
This book was a fun, enjoyable read that brought many laughs and smiles, just like all of his work. A witty way with words makes the book a pleasant way to spend your time. This is a read that I highly recommend to everyone. It is clean and fun.
Visit Wendy at Ladybug Daydreams to read what she thought about Keep Moving.
Next month’s selection is
An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11 year-old panhandler, a busy sales executive, and an unlikely meeting with destiny
by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski
At Home.
At Home 
sounds like a fun book to read. 🙂
He is a fantastic and fun writer. Definite recommend.
[…] for the Book Club. It was October’s selection so it is up now. It was a fun read. You can read more about the book over on that post. So much fun that I actually went and got another of his autobiographies to read. […]