Where Am I Giving

I am familiar with Kelsey Timmerman's previous books and was looking forward to this one. I wasn't disappointed. The book attempts to examine global giving patterns and impacts and to draw personal lessons from them, creating a list of “Giving Rules,” such as: Do something, but not just anything; and Even people who are giving the most feel like they aren't doing enough. What drives these lessons home is that Timmerman–who besides writing this book does a lot for his community and charitable organizations–doesn't make this an academic exercise. The book is filled with very specific stories of his visits to India, Cambodia, Kenya and elsewhere to see what is being done to help some of the poorest people in the world. In the book's conclusion, he offers a formula (the “good person equation”) as an attempt to suggest how much giving (cash donations, volunteer time, civic participation) is “enough” for each person. The book is both conversational (and often very funny, as Timmerman pokes fun at himself) but seriously thought-provoking.