I read this fabulous book in one weekend, zipping through it cover to cover.* It was one of the first books I read on the Kindle and found myself making "notes" on the electronic device at both funny and poignant moments. The writing is conversational, the dialogue true to life, and as an autobiographical account of Sparks' relationship with his brother, very touching and sweet.

In one scene, Sparks tells us about his attempt at the famed 'wooden-rocket powered by CO2 cartridge' feat in the Cub Scouts (I vividly recall my father helping my brother in 1977 with this very same experiment...). Although, Nicholas Sparks did not win the race, he was convinced he tanked as the ribbon he received said "Horrible Mention," a lexicon mistake on the part of a youngster. In my Kindle notes I wrote, "Hilarious! It brings me back to kid years when I read the word "awful" as "awonderful."

The book includes sensitive and loving moments too, when as adults big brother Micah shares with Nicholas: "You're choosing to let life control you, instead of the other way around. That's the big secret. You choose the kind of life you want to live."

Another fun scene he recalls as kids depicts Nicholas and Micah eating their father's entire stash of Oreo cookies and the old man getting huffy over it calling the boys "vultures." Again, Sparks' true to life writing had me putting in the Kindle margins: "cracking up here!"

Purchase this book, give it to a loved one, and if you have siblings let them know they mean more to you than you've ever said.

[*Part of the impetus for me in flying through the book so easily was that, at the time, I was going through a failed romance with a man who has one brother and I imagined he would identify with many of the sibling scenes.]

Theme: Memoirs

Three Weeks With My Brother covers Nicholas Sparks' three-week traveling tour with his brother Micah. This book expertly intertwines the brothers' adventures across the globe with stories from their childhood, including the tragic deaths of each member of their family. Their love for each other proves how deep family ties can go and how strong those ties remain even beyond death.

I chose this book because of the theme of family. Nicholas and Micah have suffered enormous tragedies in their lives, but they are always able to bounce back because of their support for one another. I thought this would relate to students and their own support circle, whether or not that circle is their family. I wanted a book that demonstrated how bonds with the people closest to you can help overcome any obstacles in life, just as the bond between Nicholas and Micah allows them to prosper after every obstacle.

Discussion Questions:

1. How is this book similar to a typical memoir? How is it different?
2. Compare the brothers now to when they were growing up in the book. How have they changed, if at all?
3. Who would you consider your support system? What obstacles in life has this person(s) helped you overcome?

To any of my reading buddies, it's no secret that I pretty much loathe the novels of Nicholas Sparks. I have tried them, and nope, not for me. There's a history and a story there, which I've recorded elsewhere, but the main part of that story is that I do have personal respect for the man, after a chance encounter with him at a Books-A-Million years ago.

A huge crowd of women were fluttering around an author. He was a clean cut, preppie-ish kind of guy (I remember that his blue shirt had an unfortunate white collar.) Normally, I like to meet authors, but when I found out it was Nicholas Sparks, doing a book-signing, I tried to skirt around the crowd. His handler stopped me.

"Don't you want to meet the author?"

"No thanks," I replied.

"But he's rather good. Have you read his books?"

"Umm. Yes, but I'd rather not meet him."

"You've read his books and don't want to meet him? Why not???"

"I'd rather not say," I said, trying to break the iron grip she had on my arm.

"He'll sign one for you."

"No thank you."

At this point, my struggling to get free caught the author's attention. He rose from his signing table, the red sea of women clustering around him parted and he came over to me. He was quite polite, and attentive, and inquired why I was so adamant about not participating in the book signing. Again, I demurred. He insisted. Did I like his book? Well-- no, not exactly. He pushed for details. I'd had enough and let loose with what I thought.

To give him credit, he didn't blanch though his handler did, and I actually heard a hiss from one of the ladies in the crowd. He thanked me for my opinion, and said he would rather have someone who vehemently disliked his book that someone who said it was so-so. At least he'd stirred a strong emotion in me. For a long time, that was the only thing I liked about Nicholas Sparks. Now, there's this book.

Three Weeks With My Brother tells more than the story of two brothers on what would, by any counts, be a fabulous trip. Mr Sparks takes the reader back to the beginning, invites us into his home, warts and all. The Sparks children had a unique upbringing: laissez-faire in some senses, but with certain iron-clad principles and a lot of love, that held the structure together. That the family was financially strapped is somewhat of an understatement. That they were resourceful, is another. In some senses, I was reminded of my husband's childhood in upstate New York. But the bonds in the family were strong, as became apparent when tragedy struck, again and again.

This story, of the Sparks family, interwoven with the brother's story of a round-the-world trip fascinated me. I thought so much of my two brothers finding both similarities and disparities. There's a lot of humor and honesty in the telling. Sparks' faith is evident, as is his strong love for his family. Clearly it was what has carried him through the deaths of the rest of the family and other obstacles that would have felled many others. I can relate to that handing on that combination of love and faith, because it got me through my own periods of grief. And now, like Nicholas Sparks, I am grateful for the love of a phenomenal spouse and the love of the only remaining member of my family, my older brother. I'll probably never take a round the world trip with him, but thanks to this book, I can read of one.

Though it's hard for me to believe, I really liked this book. I still won't read his fiction, even knowing from this narrative where the inspirations were. But remember that respect I felt after our brief encounter in that Books-A-Million? It's skyrocketed. I hope some day to have the chance to tell him that in person -- just as long as I don't have to read The Notebook again to do so.

“A deeply personal story of family and an autobiography As well. We get to know the Sparks Family like they were our Next-door Neighbors.

Very well written as an entertaining blend of travelogue and memoir.

I recommend

"Nicholas Sparks es famoso por los romances que escribe, pero aquí toca conocerle a él, el hombre que está detrás de esas novelas. A lo largo de todo este maravilloso libro, Sparks abre su alma y nos sumerge en la historia de su familia, en la que hay luces y sombras, pero sobre todo, amor y unión. Hay sucesos alegres y esperanzadores, también tristes y desgarradores, pero esa es la realidad pura y dura de la vida".

Reseña completa: http://entrelalecturayelcine.blogspot...

Once again- somehow, this ended up on my bookshelf, so I had to read it to meet my goal. It was fine.

Três semanas com o meu irmão também poderia chamar-se a autobiografia de Nicholas e Micah Sparks. O mote para o livro foi uma viagem à volta do mundo que Nicholas Sparks decidiu fazer com o seu irmão mais velho, Micah, da qual ambos pareciam precisar imediatamente. O famoso escritor estava numa fase em que trabalhava até à exaustão, pouco dormia com as preocupações com os cinco filhos, a mulher e o livro que estava a escrever no momento. Micah tinha um problema completamente diferente, tinha relaxado demasiado, deixado de dar importância às coisas e, o mais importante de tudo, tinha perdido a sua fé em Deus.
Cada capítulo começa com a descrição de um local onde se encontravam durante a viagem, sendo que esta ocupa o livro de início ao fim. No entanto, durante essa descrição, há sempre qualquer coisa numa conversa entre irmãos ou numa paisagem qualquer que observem que abre as portas à narração das suas vidas, desde como os seus pais conheceram até ao momento em que embarcam nesta viagem.
O grande destaque neste livro vai para o facto de Nicholas Sparks ser tão minucioso e real ao descrever situações dolorosas por que passou, como as mortes da mãe, pai e irmã, que nos fazem sentir como se lá estivéssemos e como se também nós sofrêssemos com essas perdas. Como já disse na revisão de Diário da Nossa Paixão, o dom deste escritor é mesma a descrição das emoções e sentimentos humanos. Além disso, mostrou que as tragédias juntam as pessoas porque Micah e ele não podia ser mais chegados, mesmo morando em costas opostas dos Estados Unidos. Mais do que irmãos, eles são melhores amigos e confidentes e completamente dependentes um do outro. É bonito de se ler.

This was an enjoyable read. Not only does the book cover the Sparks' trip around the world, it ties in the lives of each men leading up to that trip. These two brothers had been through a lot in the life of their immediate family and had a lot of common heartache and sorrow.

I couldn't decide whether to give this book three or four stars. I settled on three. I just didn't love this book, I liked it. It was a bit of a roller coaster at times, valleys and peaks of emotion but it I never got a sense of cohesion, too much was packed into this book to comprehend, I think that was my struggle with it. From the middle to the end it was emotional overload, perhaps that was intentional, they'd been through a lot.

Maybe over time it will sink in and I'll appreciate this book more. Never-the-less, these men have experienced two lifetimes of happiness and sorrow and that was clearly communicated in the many heart warming stories from their childhood and into adulthood.

Highly recommend this book! Very well written! Makes me want to re-read his oldest books and watch the movies too :)

I mostly enjoyed the book. I think his intent was to be uplifting, but I was a little depressed after reading it. It was a story of endurance through tragedy. I was born around the same time as the author. I too grew up "poor" while my dad earned his master's and doctorate. It does seem unusual that the author lost so many of his family members so young. None of my immediately family has passed-away. Now I see why he puts a tragedy in each of his books.

Another book club book. Let me first start by saying that I liked it. If you are a Nicholas Sparks fan, I am sure you would love to get to know the author better. I have not read any of Nicholas Sparks’ other books. I think I might like them, I know I liked the movie “The Notebook” but more for the story rather than the actual movie. This was an autobiography. I have not read many autobiographies but I think I am learning that it is probably really hard to write your own story without sounding pompous, selfish, or bitter towards certain figures from your childhood. Since we discussed this in book club, this one frequently got compared to the other autobiography we all read by Lance Armstrong (whom we all now dislike with a passion). Nick, it would seem, is a far better person. Most of us think we could all get along in real life, but I think we (book club members) are brutal to authors. Since an autobiography only gives a small window into the life of the person, an author is able to obscure, tint, or direct the window to show only the things the individual wants us to see. The crux is the fact that the reader may know that the window is biased therefore will take as many clues as possible to ascertain the real personality. I think it would be interesting to really get to know Mr. Sparks to see if any of our assumptions are right. Also, I understand now why someone always dies in his books. Nick has seen a lot of family death.

What I liked about the book was the flowing between childhood memories verses “current” memories as he and his brother went on the “Around the World Trip.” It kept the book moving and interesting. I liked the relationship that he and his brother had. I think that is the type of relationship we should all have with our siblings. I liked many of the places they visited, I hope to get to see them someday. I loved, loved, LOVED what his mother did when he and his brother and sister were not getting along. (As she tucked each one in bed at night, she asked them to tell her three nice things each one of his/her siblings did for him/her that day.) What a wonderful reminder to look to the positive side of each other, to be grateful, and probably also to make sure you are doing nice things for your siblings so they will have something nice to say about you that night. I am totally going to use that when my kids get older and start fighting.

I will openly admit that our book club discussion has the ability to sway my opinion of the book. I still like this book, but I liked it more before my friends pointed out many of his character flaws. Now I can’t quite look at the book the same way. Of course, that sometimes happens the opposite way where I didn’t really care for a book and then members point out several things they liked/loved and then I find myself liking it more. I am not trying to say that I am erratic but on many of these books my opinion isn’t fully formed until after we meet and discuss it. So final opinion, if you like Nickolas Sparks, or an avid travel enthusiast I think you would like this book. If you are neither one of those things, probably feel free to read something else.

OMG! This book nearly broke my heart! I was crying like crazy while reading it and I understand Nicholas Sparks and his books so much better.

My first Nicholas Sparks book was "Safe Haven", I bought it at the airport in Brussels, when I was bored out of my mind waiting for a plane. I enjoyed the story, although I thought it was a bit weird. Then, while staying in Brussels in a bookshop I saw more Nicholas Sparks books. I bought them one by one. First was "The Best of Me", then "The Last Song" and then "A Walk to Remember". After reading them I still wasn't sure if I like Nicholas Sparks or his books. I found unbearable that so many bad things, horrible things, unexpected things in his novels happened to good people. There was something that struck me as wrong with his novels, people treated badly, people dying. Why he created characters and situations like that?

Now I know the answer: he was writing about the world as he experienced it. He was not simply creating fancy tearjerkers to earn money. He was writing about his own life. To suffer so many loses and heartache... It is devastating. After finishing this book I joined his newsletter and plan to buy more of his novels, because now I know that they are worth reading.