The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture

by

Randy Pausch

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Last Lecture makes teaching easy.

The Last Lecture: Foreword Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
The foreword, written by Randy Pausch’s wife Jai after his death, is the only section of the book not written from Randy’s perspective. Jai recalls taking Randy to a celebratory lunch after his book, The Last Lecture, was released in April of 2008. After lunch they went to a bookstore, where she snapped a picture of Randy holding his book. She notes that working on the book was one of the things that kept him vital until his last days. She states how touched she is that people, still to this day, reach out to her to tell her how much of a difference The Last Lecture has made to their lives. She ends by saying that the past few years without Randy have been tough, but Jai and her children “choose to find the joy in life and good in people,” and that’s the best lesson she could hope to teach her kids in honor of their father.
Jai, in her attitude throughout this section, reflects Randy’s ideas about being simultaneously realistic and optimistic in your outlook on life. Rather than focusing on how difficult life has been since Randy’s death (although she also doesn’t shirk away from discussing it), Jai highlights how touched she’s been by all of the positive feedback she’s received about how impactful Randy’s book has been on its readers’ lives.
Themes
Teaching, Learning, and Feedback Loops Theme Icon
Attitude and Positive Behavior Theme Icon