Summary Of The Last Lecture By Randy Pausch

Throughout chapters 12-27 of The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch talks about many stories in his lifetime and the brief lessons they teach him. One of my favorite stories of these is in Chapter 12 when Randy finds out his cancer has returned. While at the doctor’s office, he realized the doctor left the computer open, and he was quick to check it, as he had to see what his medical records showed. He couldn’t help himself. After viewing his scans, Randy saw he had ten tumors. He immediately recognized that he wouldn’t be able to fight against this cancer. This news was especially devastating to his wife, Jai. But while trying to comprehend what he had just learned, the doctor was still explaining how Randy could ease his symptoms and “officially

He’s obviously done this so many times before, and he’s good at it. He’s carefully rehearsed, and yet everything is still so heartful and spontaneous’ ” (Pausch 61). This story is my favorite because even when Randy receives the news of his death, he still finds something else to focus on and manages to ease his pain and find the smallest silver lining in the entire situation. This story was incredibly distressing, but the fact that the dying man found something else to focus on made it intriguing. Even after finding out, he was going to die in a few months, Randy focused on the craft his doctor was using and the way he delivered the worst-case news. His ability to focus on something else to distract himself is insanely impressive, along with his not freaking out over the worst news ever. He simply took the news like it was normal. Along with fascinating stories, there were also some eminently impactful quotes throughout chapters 12-27. In chapter 13, Randy described how one of his colleagues had sent him an email some time after his diagnosis. In that email, Robbee Kosak (his colleague), told the story of when she saw Randy driving in his convertible, enjoying his music and life