A life well-lived. Looking back, what would make you say that about your own life? What would constitute that well-lived life? Would it contain grand gestures seen by many or small, sacred acts seen by few?

The Last Sweet Mile is a long letter written by Allen Levi to his family that covers the last year of his brother Gary’s life. They had a special relationship. A relationship we all long for. They were remarkably close. Gary was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2011 and died an exact year later on July 22, 2012. Allen called that year with his brother the best year of his life.

Allen wrote this book before his latest novel, Theo of Golden. I have Theo on my mind, and so I naturally compared the two books despite Theo being a work of fiction and The Last Sweet Mile a work of non-fiction. I see a lot of Gary in the character of Theo. The sacredness of small things. The signposts of beauty. Sadness. Joy. Laughter.

When I finished reading Theo of Golden last December, I had a one word response–Stunning. I had that same one-word response after finishing The Last Sweet Mile. It’s heart-wrenching, it’s sad, but it’s beautiful, for it portrays a life well-lived.

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