Valedictorian: A Story of the Hidden Glory of a Troubled Life

by Constance W. Hall

Growing up with odds stacked against him, born to alcoholic parents, and forced to depend on only himself since the age of eight, Wilbur strives for success through intelligence, hard work, and education. Unfortunately, life's devastating blows overshadow Wilbur's remarkable achievements like a one-two punch. Wilbur eventually concludes that his life has been a cruel joke-until one person lifts the veil, and Wilbur learns what his true purpose has always been.

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

Published February 10, 2016

About the author

In Valedictorian, Constance Hall attempts to answer some of life's most esoteric questions: Why am I here? What is my purpose? Am I a failure? As humans, we all eventually seek these answers. She based the main character, Wilbur, largely on her father, as he posed these questions to her beginning at the young age of six years old. Constance watched her father grow old and wrestle with these questions her whole life. With this book, her second completed novel, she found the words and insight to fully respond. Constance was born on a military base in eastern North Carolina and has been a registered nurse for thirty years. She is also a family nurse practitioner and sees patients on a regular basis. She credits her intimate contact with people who share what really matters to them, during the times when life seems to matter most, for her deep understanding, insight, and empathy. Constance lives on the coast of eastern North Carolina with her husband of twenty-two years, Bill, and together they have five sons.

Reviews

[Devyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from Goodreads.
The most fascinating thing to me about this book was how the reader got to read about how a motivated and persistent Wilbur slowly turned into a paranoid emotion-phobic hermit.
It was kind of depressing- and terrifying! How life scars even the strongest of us all...
But, despite everything, I enjoyed it. My love of history made this book so fun to read. I would have preferred more information about Wilbur's time at Vietnam. The part about the landfill there in Vietnam is something I haven't read about before. Too bad that was the only story from that time in this book.
Also, if this book is a lesson for anything it's to keep your money away from the stock market and gold bonds.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells a great story about a young man growing up during troubled times with lack of support from his parents. A very moving book and worth the read.

I received a copy through Good Reads First Reads

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet story, but nothing about it stands out too much. Even the description of the book is the same description for every underdog story ever--guy overcomes improbable odds to do something cool then gets knocked down. Guy overcomes impossible odds to do something great and manages to somehow always be somewhat chipper about the whole thing. If you've read or watched this formula once it won't be a surprise here.

With that being said, as with any underdog story, you can't help rooting for him and wishing him the best. His parents in particular bothered me the most; they weren't helpful in the slightest and did a great job of beating him down mentally. I'm glad he at least got past that to have a fulfilling life.

[Joseph Carano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. This was a cute little story following five generations and their effects on a mans life. It tells the story of Wilbur, a man who tries not to settle for second best in anything, and his trials and tribulations he is faced with in life. A real good tale which is fairly easy to get through which will inspire the reader and put a smile on their face.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from goodreads giveaways. I love this story. The characters were endearing. I couldn't put the book down...so many highs and lows, with the best being the beautifully sweet ending. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Hall's work.

[Kelly Knapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling look at one man's need to understand his purpose and impact upon his world and family. Wilbur overcomes a hard start at life, but life keeps throwing him curve balls. Then an incident comes along that shakes him up and he begins to wonder what happened and if he has really made a difference in his world and that of his family.

This book, while not intended to be religious, reminds me of two things...

First, is a song by Ray Boltz called "Thank You" where a man gets to heaven and isn't sure he's made a difference, but soon begins meeting people who were impacted by his choices and actions.

Second is from the Bible Proverb, "train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." (22:6)

[Rita Levens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book to read.

[Jessica Rickert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic story of an American family from childhood until the golden years. It will pull at your heart strings and keep you turning the page right until the end.

I won this book for free on the Good reads giveaways.

[Biff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst it was slow to get in to at first I did really enjoy this book. The military aspect of it was my favorite part, knowing many former and current military personnel and having recently finished watching the 1980s TV show Tour of Duty set during the Vietnam War, that aspect of the novel really drew me in.

The ending of the book made me emotional, the happy kind of emotional. It was like watching a character on a show achieve so much when the odds were stacked against them, or like watching your favorite sports team come from behind to win the final. That sense of pride for a character turning their life around and the kind words spoken of a family member.

For me to get emotional reading a book says a lot about the author's writing. Constance W. Hall's writing style had me captured and the speech at the very end really did bring my emotions to the service signifying a 'bond' with the characters. It was so well written.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
This book reviewed a man's life and the struggles that he went through. I honestly felt bad for him because he had a lot of wasted opportunities that life's circumstances didn't let him take advantage of. But, honestly, that's life. We all face problems in life and this just kind of focused on the difficulties that he faced.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Easy, fast reading. Difficult to criticize as the story is largely based on the author's father, who I found to be a very disturbed person. The end seemed contrived. A very human, and sad, story. A statement on our society in general.

[Kari Beasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book I would normally have chosen to read. I'm not really into historical fiction. That being said I did enjoy the book. We are all in some way motivated, driven, or discouraged by our past. I wasn't surprised Wilbur and Jesse were so different in character - opposite ends of the spectrum, Wilbur being the overachiever and Jesse being the one who gave up. At times I found myself angry at the main character, Wilbur, for his stubborn refusal to see things any way but his own or how his actions and words affected those he cared about most. I saw a lot of my own grandfather in Wilbur, a man who was never great at showing affection, thought his way was the only way, and yet always wanted more for his children and grandchildren.

[Debbie Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valedictorian came to me by means of a Goodreads Giveaway, and I enjoyed this in-depth biography of her father’s life. I gave this book a 4-star rating because, I too, was somewhat troubled by this man who went through so many hardships in his life. He was always able to somehow pick himself up and start over and I commended him for his persistence Yet each incident that turned sour gradually took a toll on his life view of himself. He tried hard to keep of going to keep his family intact.

He was not unlike my father who also, was a military man. My dad, like Wilbur, had a lot of pride and expected the best for himself and his family. He was strong-headed and stubborn. The difference between my father and Wilbur
was that my father passed away in his early fifties of a heart attack right after I finished my sophomore year of college. I didn’t get to see him to make it to retirement and enjoy a future family. I suspect he would have seen his grandchildren grown up and mellow in his years as I hoped that Wilbur’s might have been after making the decision to have his surgery.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting chronicle of a man's journey through life's trials and tribulations to finally realize who he is and why. Easy read although the author touches on the reader's emotions in a healthy way.

[Claire Barfell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book on Goodreads Giveaways. This is a beautiful story. Wilbur had a terrible childhood, but was able to make a true success of himself through hard work, good morals and study. However, just one mistakes changes everything. This story shows us that we all serve a purpose in life and sometimes we really do not realize what it is. The ending was just wonderful. This is a good Christian story and is very uplifting . I highly recommend it. The writing just flows.

[Tara Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

So moving! I was fully absorbed into the pages of this man's life. Well worth the read! I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you!!

[Neola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Families are sometimes not perfect. Troubles can be forgiven. Highly recommend this book.

[Rochelle Helene · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible non fiction book. Not worth the paper it's printed on.

[Nicole Miele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story a lot, and I was glad to have received it from winning it in the FirstReads give away. I couldn't put the book down and finished it in 2 days ( which is hard to do with a toddler running around at home)

My only problem with this book is how it was written. The story telling, for me, was too blunt and disjointed. At first I was confused as to who's point of view it was being written in. I felt as if the author could have spent more time developing the scenes and characters a bit more to make the story flow a bit better. Why did the dad start drinking? Why did the mom start drinking? Why did the mother stop drinking? What happened the night the father got taken away? What happened to the grandmother and uncle? I feel like so much important stuff happened that we didn't get to be apart of and it made me want to know. I think relationships could have been developed a bit more. Big chunks of time passed between chapters with out knowing how long or what could have happened between them. Again, I loved the bones of the story and how we got to see the main character grow or not grow during his life, but I can't get over how segmented and blunt the novel seemed to be written. This may have been the exact way the author intended the book to be written, but for me, I would have enjoyed reading the same story if it had flowed a bit better.

[Nancy Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Valedictorian hard to read, not because of the writing, but because of the rough life Wilbur had. He managed to pick himself up and go again every time life knocked him down, even when I as a reader expected him to just quit.
I received the book free through Goodreads.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through Goodreads. I really liked the story of Wilburs. He was such a likeable and refreshing character. His story rings true for a lot of us. Loved it.

[Marianne K]

I'm not rating this book as I could not finish it even after multiple starts. My problem was the dialog and the hardscrabble southern setting. It's just not something I am interested in.

I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from a Good Reads giveaway. I really enjoyed this story that followed the life of Wilbur and his family.

[Staci Suhy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free as part of a first reads promotion

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read. The main character is Wilbur Weaver who had a tough childhood and overcame those obstacles to become a man well respected by others. His personality was a combination of insecurity and the need to prove himself, some obstinacy and perfectionism.

I was able to predict several of the main events in the book. I also felt parts of it weren't detailed enough and I would've liked more character development. I didn't really like any of the characters. Wilbur in particular had many good qualities that I wanted to like, but his doubts, stubbornness and inflexible attitude made it hard. The other characters were not developed as much.

This is a book I received in a Goodreads give away.