The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man

“Children of the early 1900s who lived to a great age saw their lives and their communities, their places of work and worship, their families and mores shaken, inverted, blown up, and remade […]. What did it take to thrive and find happiness while experiencing so much disruption?”

Von Drehle alludes to the successive events, inventions, and conflicts that made the 20th century one of constant social, environmental, and technological change. He connects the rapid pace of change in the last century to the continued cultural shifts happening today, implying that he and his children will also live through such “disruptions.” In this way, he encourages the reader to learn from the personal stories of elders.

“Charlie made an art of living. He understood, as great artists do, that every life is a mixture of comedy and tragedy, joy and sorrow, daring and fear. We choose the tenor of our lives from those clashing notes.”

Von Drehle praises White’s ability to find humor and beauty in everyday life, even in difficult situations. In this passage, Von Drehle emphasizes people’s agency in how they experience life, pointing to White’s ability to focus on the positive.

“He had a gift for seizing joy, grabbing opportunities, and holding onto things that matter. And he had an unusual knack for an even more difficult task: letting go of all the rest.”

Von Drehle lists White’s admirable qualities, which he believes have added to the quality—and longevity—of his life. Von Drehle emphasizes White’s positivity and ability to not dwell on negative experiences.

“To a boy of four or five, Kansas City was a metropolis, populated by some 250,000 people, with nearly as many cows, pigs, sheep, and horses in the busy stockyards and stables of the West Bottoms […] The busy sights, the noise, the stench of blood and dung, Kansas City overwhelmed the senses.”

Von Drehle describes Kansas City in the early 1900’s, when a young White and his family moved there. This description evokes White’s childhood environment, and serves as a reminder of the major population and infrastructural changes that White lived through.

“But that composure was hard earned. Immediately after the tragedy, Charlie’s grief was so great that he could hardly eat. Charlie’s mother and older sisters worried that he might starve. The whole family was overwhelmed.”

Here, Von Drehle explores a key theme, Positivity and Persistence. The death of White’s father was a major turning point in White’s early life, as it was an abrupt interruption to an otherwise happy early childhood. Von Drehle connects White’s experience of grief and loss to his stoicism and composure in later years.

“In the grip of depression or anxiety, any affirmative step is better than paralysis. Action promotes more action; decision produces decision; living generates life. When we pick up Charlie’s story in the dazed aftermath of his father’s violent death, we see that something in this boy already grasped the existential truth.”

Von Drehle continues to explore The Importance of Personal Agency by highlighting White’s ability to focus on the decisions—no matter how small—that he could control. According to Von Drehle, this helped White function and move forward in spite of his immense grief about his father’s death.

“‘I don’t remember being awfully happy,’ he once said of his boyhood, but he chose not to dwell on unhappiness. As he put it, ‘We didn’t have time to be sad.’ In this attitude, Charlie manifested a precocious Stoicism.”

Von Drehle claims that White’s decision to brush off feelings of unhappiness helped him move forward in his life. By dedicating his energy to being productive, White was able to resist feeling sorry for himself and dwelling on negative experiences. The above passage raises questions for the reader about emotional management and repression, mental health, and generational differences around these topics.

“Charlie and Ed Snow had no money to spare for the trip. But the winter wheat was ready for harvest on the Kansas Prairie. Demand for field hands was high. The boys told their parents they were going to make some money for college. Their unspoken plan was to keep going west once their pockets were filled.”

This passage explains White’s adventurous plans to drive west with his friend Ed Snow as the two came of age after high school. This aims to help the reader imagine their personal and economic circumstances, and to encourage them to keep reading and discover if the boys’ secret ambitions were realized.

“Charlie and his intrepid friend Ed not only had the courage they needed; they also understood the strengths they brought to the table. Older workers could beat them on skill, and experience, but they made up for it with their willingness to grow and adapt. Resourcefulness is a close cousin of resilience.”

Von Drehle credits White and his young friend for their willingness to learn new skills quickly as they worked as farmhands. In spite of their total lack of experience working with draft animals, the two friends took on the job and quickly mastered the necessary skills. Von Drehle uses this story as an example of White’s “resourcefulness,” which he argues is a key part of developing general resilience.

“Decades later, Charlie reflected, ‘When you don’t have an income, you create. You find a job.’ Of course, it’s not always so easy. Yet he put his finger on something important. Humans have more creativity, more possibility, than most of us ever touch.”

This passage explains White’s mindset as he came of age, and how he tried to think creatively to earn an income as a young man with little formal education. This led White to creative endeavors, such as learning the saxophone and establishing a professional band.

“Charlie staked his future on the light, saying, ‘If you’re negative, your whole body suffers. A negative person falls apart, because the food that is supplied with optimism is not present.’ An optimist does not deny darkness. Optimists like Charlie refuse to sink into it, to hide in it, to surrender to darkness.”

This passage reveals White’s life philosophy in his own words, illustrating White’s belief that positive and negative thoughts have a profound effect on people’s physical and mental health. Von Drehle grapples with the nature of optimism, differentiating it from denial and emphasizing its hopeful and forward-looking nature.

“Laura White’s faith in her son to do the right thing, and her trust in his resourcefulness, powerfully nourished his confidence. I can see that now. Children need room to make their own choices, learn their own lessons, suffer their own consequences, and dust themselves off. Perhaps the most difficult lesson for today’s supremely protective parents: Laura White raised her son as if the world were a safe and manageable place.”

Von Drehle reflects on how White was influenced by his mother’s parenting decisions, which encouraged his sense of empowerment and independence. Even though she had lost her husband in a terrible accident, Laura White did not become overprotective of her son; she allowed him to pursue his own travels and jobs, trusting that he would find a way to survive and establish himself. Von Drehle argues that Laura White’s faith in his ability helped White develop an inner confidence that fueled his development into a professional musician and doctor.

“What happened next was pure Charlie White. His rejection was a hard blow but did not leave him powerless. The disappointment could be turned into a challenge, a chance to test his own strength. He boarded a train for Chicago, found his way to Evanston, and located the office of the medical school dean. Though he had no appointment, Charlie announced himself at the desk and sat down to wait until the dean would see him.”

Von Drehle lauds White’s initiative in securing himself a spot in medical school. Instead of accepting his rejection, White insisted on visiting the dean of the school, and successfully persuaded him to offer him a place. Von Drehle emphasizes the courage and positivity that White showed during this crucial turning point in his life, encouraging the reader to consider how they, too, could pursue opportunities more confidently.

“Charlie, I think, had a natural perception that every life meets obstacles and setbacks, some more difficult than others and some more unjust. But there is always some scope of self-determination, no matter how narrow.”

Von Drehle explores the importance of personal agency. Charlie did not deny that life had hardships, but he embraced his power of choice, of agency, instead of dwelling in negativity.

“Mildred’s drinking paused, in other words, but never stopped. Speaking of these years, Charlie admitted that he felt powerless. I think this was, for Charlie, the most difficult admission of all.”

Von Drehle’s discussion of White’s marriage to Mildred adds a new layer to his portrayal of White. White, who has always seized personal agency, was in a new position of feeling helpless. In spite of his best efforts and his medical background, White could not help his wife resolve her drinking addiction and mental health problems. This passage illuminates White’s personal challenges in adulthood and shows his vulnerability.

“So we see that Charlie was risking his life, in a sense, risking the life he had built for himself. Many people today relate to his fear. The killer of careers in the twenty-first century is not a world war, it’s the digital revolution, which chews up entire industries and sectors of the economy.”

When White volunteered for military service as a doctor, he took a great risk in leaving his place of work and the client list he had built up over the years. He also risked putting greater strain on his already troubled marriage. Von Drehle’s assessment of White’s decision emphasizes White’s willingness to risk stability for a new experience, one that he felt was a necessary and ethical choice. By connecting White’s situation with modern risks to employment, Von Drehle encourages the reader to relate to White.

“In other words, without fear, there is no courage. One who senses no danger feels no apprehension. One who feels no apprehension has no desire to run away […]. Stoic philosophers have regarded courage as one of the four most important—cardinal—virtues, along with justice, prudence, and self-control.”

Von Drehle explores Stoic Principles in Everyday Life. He portrays White as a courageous Stoic who could overcome fear to take action in his life. In this passage, he clarifies that courage is not the absence of fear, but mastery over it.

“Charlie was realistic about the dead end he had reached as a bag-carrying doctor making house calls. Penicillin and successor drugs had changed the doctor’s role. Yet, at the same time, he was optimistic about new beginnings, and confident in his ability to grab them. Charlie was alert to the next open door, and when he saw it, he strode through.”

Von Drehle recounts how White, a doctor, had to be flexible and open-minded during the course of his career since the medical profession changed dramatically over the course of his life. He emphasizes White’s ability to roll with the punches and embrace change instead of resisting it.

“Charlie’s helplessness in the face of his wife’s disease was still raw more than six decades later when he told me the story. Could he have done more to help her? I have no way to judge […]. Clinic doctors were some of the early adopters of the idea that addiction is a disease, not a moral failure. But this was also a time when some so-called experts still believed that women could not be addicts, certainly not a respectable doctor’s wife.”

Von Drehle explains White’s heartbreak at his wife’s addiction, mental illness, and ultimately, her death at a young age. This passage frames Mildred’s suffering in its historical context, highlighting how little knowledge and support there were for women suffering alcohol addiction. By explaining Mildred’s circumstances, Von Drehle highlights how White’s relationship with her was one of the most challenging parts of his life.

“But Charlie, in his grief, forgot everything that he knew about living. Having suffered with Mildred, he appeared determined not to get hurt again.”

Von Drehle describes White’s grief over losing his wife and posits that his loss negatively affected his ability to form a healthy bond with his next partner. This passage humanizes White, and shows that, in spite of his resilience, he was still scarred by his wife’s death. By describing White’s troubles, Von Drehle builds conflict and tension.

“He was just as adventuresome in familiar surroundings. Part of Charlie’s adaptability to a century of great changes was the delight he found in things new and untried. He wasn’t self-conscious about the risk of failure.”

Choosing to delight in—rather than dread—change and novelty gave White an immense advantage as he lived and worked through the 20th century. In this passage, Von Drehle encourages the reader to consider how they could emulate White by being excited by change and becoming more adaptable to it.

“Charlie embraced the fact that he would be learning new things as long as he lived. His education at school was the beginning, not the end—not by a long shot. He moved forward by accepting that he would advance in small increments, not just giant leaps.”

White was curious and accepted change. He embraced the fact that, to thrive, he would have to continually learn over the course of his personal and professional life. While he had received a formal education, White never had the expectation that this would end his learning experience. Von Drehle argues that this realistic and humble expectation helped White maintain a happy outlook on life even as the world rapidly changed around him.

“Charlie traveled twice to Haiti with his friend, pediatrician Herb Davis, to give checkups and administer vaccines to impoverished children. His work had come full circle then, from the boyhood dinner table where he listened admiringly to the stories of medical missionaries and decided to be a doctor, to these missions of his own […]. Charlie often said that being a doctor wasn’t a job or even a profession. It was a privilege: for no other employment brought a person into such intimate positions of trust with others.”

White was committed to his medical profession and to being a lifelong learner. At the age of 99, he completed his second trip to Haiti to help people without medical care, and in doing so emulated the missionaries who inspired him eight decades before.