Blessed: I’m so Damned Grateful

Blessed: I’m so Damned Grateful
Raymond M. Saunders and Craig R. Saunders
Author House
ISBN: 1-4184-4585-1
Non-Fiction, Biography
Reviewed by Dr. Tami Brady

Blessed: I’m so Damned Grateful is the retelling of the Saunders family history, tragedy, and triumphs through the eyes of Raymond M. Saunders. Saunders begins his account with stories told to him about his great grandparents, his great grandfather’s battles with alcohol, and a tragic murder-suicide that left his grandfather an orphan at age fourteen. Saunders also discusses the hardships of the Great Depression and the World Wars. Retrospectively, however, the author does not lament the pain and suffering of these periods of time. Instead, Saunders describes how these hardships shaped the Saunders family and how these events made the author realize the true importance of his family.
Blessed: I’m so Damned Grateful is the story of an average man living his life. Some would say his story is not extraordinary. He didn’t cure cancer or play professional baseball and he wasn’t a movie star. Instead, the author simply recognized that what he had was something very unique and special, family. That he recognized this fact and lived his life based on that reality, I believe, is extremely extraordinary. In our chaotic daily lives, it is important to forget for an instant the material things that we don’t have and be thankful for what we do have, namely our friends and family.