About The Book
Who Moved My Cheese was written by Dr Spencer Johnson and published in 1999 by Vermillion. The author split the book into 3 main parts. It starts off describing a gathering of former classmates in Chicago. Their discussion led to the topic of change and how people tend to resist change, when one of them brought up an interesting story that changed the way he looked at change. After encouragement from the group, he began sharing the story with them.
The second part of the book tells a fictional story about 2 mice & 2 little people who seek for cheese daily to survive. The story begins with them finding a station filled with cheese, so much so that they won’t have to go around the maze looking for more cheese ever again (or so they thought), Eventually, the cheese inevitably finishes and each of the characters from the story reacts to the change in a different manner. The story closely follows Haw, the main character, as he is hit with the change, what went through his mind and the small changes that occurred in his way of thinking over time.
Finally, the book closes back with the group of former classmates as they shared their thoughts about what they learnt from the story. They shared their own situations and discussed how different things could be if they are more open to change in their own lives.
Book Review
What I Loved About This Book
What I loved about “Who Moved My Cheese” is that it was written with one simple message in mind, and that is to convince its readers to be adaptable to changes. With less than 100. small pages with relatively large fonts, I’m impressed that the author managed to convey his message effectively.
I also loved the fact that the message was conveyed using a story so simple that we could even teach it in kindergarten. The author focused on getting the message across rather than trying to sound intelligible, which I felt refreshing and would applaud him for doing so. He even included pictures of cheese with revelations made by Haw (main character) scattered throughout the story. I felt it allowed me to focus and absorb the message without trying too hard figuring out what he meant to teach us in the story.
Finally, I also loved how he included “real people” at the start & end of the book to discuss what they learnt from the story and how it applies to the real world. While a story could effectively deliver a message, showing us how it could relate to our lives adds another layer of clarity to the readers. I would definitely incorporate this method in my own stories.
What I Felt Could Be Improved
I’m sharing this in my personal point of view that I think would have enhanced the experience of reading this book for me. The only that I would had loved to have was a picture (or two) of the characters of the story. Having their picture would have helped me put a face to these characters as they scurried down the maze in search of cheese and enhanced my experience reading the book.
Personal Takeaway
As I read the book, I was able to relate their story to my own and realise that I myself am trying to resist change instead of embracing and preparing for it. I work in an IT field, and it is constantly evolving at a rapid pace, new technologies being introduced every other day. I’ve been closing my eyes to all these changes and convincing myself that it doesn’t concern me. After reading this book, it made me realise that I’ve been acting like the little people in the story, and if I don’t start preparing for the inevitable change, I’ll be left in the dust.
Final Thoughts
I’ve read this book multiple times, each time I was able to learn something new from it. I’ve also recommended the book to several members of my family, who have all finished the book in almost no time at all and loved it. For some of them, it was the first book they’ve ever finished reading, so I hope that’s saying something. So for those of you who are looking for a story to read, I would highly recommend Who Moved My Cheese to you. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did, cheers!