Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore

This is #13 this week on the NY Times Non-Fiction Trade Paperback list and I had heard of it before and wanted to read it. I'm just a few pages in, but I can tell I'm going to really enjoy it. Here is the blurb about it from the Times:

"SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME, by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent. The unlikely friendship between a homeless drifter and a successful art dealer who meet at a shelter in Texas."



Review to follow.

Carolyn
Admin

Review of Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore (c. 2006)

This book started off extremely well, telling of the lives of two very different men: 1) Ron Hall - an egocentric, wealthy, shallow art dealer; and 2) Denver Moore - a homeless man who grew up in severe poverty and for most of his life, was homeless. Denver's story is interesting and very, very sad, being pitched as a "modern-day slave" life (which I only partially agree with), he never had any schooling or real housing, and worked most of his life without real pay. It's a scary look at how so many people can and do fall through the cracks in today's "modern" world. The two men meet through Ron's wife, Deborah, who is a Christian missionary in downtown, downtrodden Fort Worth, TX. But beyond that, she is truly an incredible woman and the real light behind this story. She "forces" shallow Ron to befriend the angry, silent, maybe dangerous Denver and the two men become friends. About 1/4 of the way in, I had to roll my eyes at the constant, oppressive Christian blather, and it follows through, bonking the unknowing reader on the head mercilessly, until the end of the book. At times, it's hard to swallow and if you are not of the same religious bent, it actually becomes quite boring. But due to the high accolades, I did read it through to the end. Ultimately, I am glad I did. Religion aside, the real gem in here is how one person can make a difference to so many; and also, in one individual's life. If each of us helped just one person to this degree, what a world it would be. To watch as Deborah goes to some of the roughest parts of Fort Worth and simply befriends the homeless people is what kindness is all about. She never judged, just listened ... and helped. So it is inspiring as to the acts of the people involved. I see now this book is being hyped as a Christian/inspirational book (and the book discussion questions that follow are all religious), so I think that is likely this book's target audience. But it's worth picking up for the small lessons and to learn about the lives of Deborah Hall and Denver Moore.

2 stars out of 5

Carolyn
Admin