Book Review: Stories of Life by Davidson Loehr

Reviewed by Tomi Alo

A fresh perspective on personal growth, determination, self-discovery, and the unpredictable nature of fate and chance

Davidson Loehr’s memoir is divided into four parts: “My Early Life,” “Life After Vietnam,” “The Costs of It All,” and “Concluding Thoughts.” Each part embeds several little stories detailing major events in Loehr’s life. In addition to reading about his early childhood and his time in the army, we learn of his relationship with his family, his time as a musician, photographer, carpenter, two marriages, and his journey into the ministry. 

According to Loehr, much of our character comes from nature and all the experiences we go through before the age of 25. He likens it to a twig on a tree, arguing that as we grow, these experiences “bend our twig and shape our character” and will not change much thereafter. For him, one influential period proved to be the three and half years he spent in the army. 

While this is primarily a personal memoir, it acts doubly as a self-help book. He does this with “Your Turn” sections after each story, where he encourage readers to use his stories to reflect on their own experiences and ask themselves how they would have dealt with similar situations. 

At first, these little “Your Turn” segments can feel like a distraction. Stories of Life seemed best enjoyed as a personal story, but in the end, I’m grateful these sections are here. They create a sort of interactive and introspective experience that adds to the memoir’s themes. 

One of the strongest examples of the self-help style working in tandem with the personal is when Loehr is assigned to cook school after basic training in the army. By being bold enough to question it, he changes his fate and gets reassigned to clerk school. When can you benefit from being bold?

“What has your attitude toward ‘orders’… been during your life? What would you like to change—anything? Other reactions to this story?”

Religion is another major topic in this memoir. And although I grew up in a Christian home, I sometimes find the topic too sensitive to speak on, but in the final section of this book, Loehr skillfully handles this topic with acuity. Here, he offers both objective and subjective insights into how religion has developed and the role it continues to play in today’s world. 

“Unitarianism is the religion that said it was okay to bring both your heart and your brain to church.”

Like him, I had questions about my religion that were either brushed off or considered foolish. The older I got though, the more I began to see the flaws and hypocrisy behind the religion I had always known, and I could no longer leave my brain at home on Sunday before going to church. Hearing Loehr’s perspective on religion is a real eye-opener. In a well-thought-out, informed manner, he breaks down exactly what religion should entail and provides red flags to watch out for when entering into or accepting your religion. 

Stories of Life isn’t a book you can or should read in one sitting. It requires time and effort to digest all of its valuable information. Doing this will make the entire reading experience worthwhile, however, as it turns out to be an insightful and thought-provoking take on character’s influence on our lives.

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