Before I Go: Letters to Our Children about What Really Matters

Peter Kreeft
Sheed & Ward (2007)
ISBN 9781580512244
Reviewed by Dr. Michael Philliber for Reader Views (12/07)

Having sat with several people as they draw close to the end of their life, I have noticed that many find themselves frustrated by the short time they have to say the final, important things to their loved ones. Peter Kreeft has taken a preemptive strike at that moment for his family by writing this short, readably warm book, “Before I Go: Letters to Our Children about What Really Matters.” Kreeft states that this book is simply a “word-insurance policy.  It is a way of speaking even after you are dead” (4). And he has written it for his grown children against the day that he may no longer be able to say what he deems are the important things, before he goes.

The short chapters are normally succinct, lasting anywhere from three sentences to three pages, but the depth of insight vastly surpasses the amount if ink and paper. For example, in one short chapter, he poignantly reveals the two categories into which people generally fall, “There are only two kinds of people: sinners, who think they’re saints, and saints, who know they’re sinners. There are only fools, who think they’re wise, and the wise, who know they’re fools” (51). It becomes clear as one reads further into this book that the writer is skilled at writing and at writing in a memorable fashion. I found myself struggling to put the book aside, because each chapter enticed me to jump to the next.

Kreeft teaches philosophy at Boston College, which shines through in several chapters, particularly in the superb craftsmanship with which he is able to hone an idea down to its primary point, like the following; “Worship God, love people, and respect stuff” (54). He is also a loyal Roman Catholic, and that similarly comes through clear and without apology all over this book. Neither of these facts detracts from the book, but is the reservoir from which he is able to dish out his nourishing and healthful comments.

The realism with which Kreeft sees the world, and with which he writes, is a two edged sword. Because of the down-to-earth way he airs his thoughts, he will be easily grasped, and heartily appreciated, by the simplest readers: “We strut and fret and preen and pose, but only God can make a rose” (86). But his earthy approach might also catch some completely off guard, especially as he uses expletives on occasion. Yet these are never gratuitous, but serve to drive home a valuable, salient point.

Reading “Before I Go” will be a pure pleasure for the thoughtfully reflective, and a valuable gift for many parents to use in passing on wise words to their children before they lose the ability to say those final, important words.

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