I'm Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rogers

Great reflection on a great man!

This is the best book I have read in a long time. Filled with humor and compassion, this book reflects on an accidental friendship between the author and Mr. Rogers. Will make you laugh at times, and reflect on the human experience in others. Definitely worth the time to look into.

Uplifting

This was by far the most uplifting book I have read in ages. Mr Madigan gives insight to a life well lived and how one kind word or simple statement (IPOY) can change someones world. Unlikely friendships are usually life changing. Mr. Madigan clearly shows this.

A nice guy!

That's the book. MR. Rogers was a nice guy.

Inspiring AND entertaining!

Who knew Fred Rogers had so much to offer us "grownups?" Tim Madigan is able to peel back the covers and share his personal transformation under Mr. Rogers' influence. How lucky he was to have such a friend!

Heartwarming

I smiled. I cried. I took note of great wisdom and insight.

inspiring

More about the author than Mr. Rogers, the book gave me insight into the Fred Rogers our little girls loved! Wonderful read!

Highly recommend

I enjoyed this book very much and will read it again. Who would have thought we would continue to learn so much from Mr. Rogers.

So Touching, Two thumbs up!!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! It kept my attention and I found myself even crying in some parts. It made me envious of this man's relationship with Mr. Rogers. It also gives you insight into a side of a man that we all grew up with, but never really knew. So many good thoughts to ponder. It left me wanting to be a better person. I have given this book to five people so far. It offers a lesson on how to live your life and never under estimate the power of being unconditionally supportive and a friend. Wow.

I'm Proud of You review

I found Tim Madigan puts his heart all out on this book. It is a book that inspires people to realize some of the feelings we all feel, at some time or other, are so real to all of us. Tim shows how he felt about his father in this book, only to realize his father did love him and did his best as a father to show it. We all go through life with some insecure feelings about past relationships and try to improve on them, but to grow older and realize it is without any real validation that we feel this way. He also shows this in the story about his brother and going over the past and to realize there is nothing you can do to change it. But to look at the present and get on with a new beginning and forget the broken promises. Life is richer when you live in the present and not the past and to build a future with what you learn. Whether it be children, parents or spouses. He gives this with the eye opener from Mr. Fred Rogers and they befriend each other.

This memoir is definitly an emotional trip. I found happiness when he met Mr. Rogers, but also, a tear jerker when he hears about his brother and learns from his father. There were tears many times when I read this book and it was nothing I thought it would be when I picked it up to read.

I would and will pass this book on to my grandchildren. Because they are in their sensitive years as teenagers and it might give them answers to why things are happening to them at this time in their lives. Only a grandmother can tell them, it won't be long and they will see what is to raise a family and why parents act the way they do. But you know IPOY is a good way of making a pathway to adulthood too.

I wish I could have been Mr. Rogers' friend

First of all, I've never particularly considered myself a religious or spiritual person, but I have this feeling that had I been friends with Mr. Rogers, I would have been. I know it sounds crazy, but I feel like a better person just for having read this book.
It's not very often that we meet someone that we can look at and just see the goodness emitting from their being, but I think Mr. Rogers was one of those people. This book is about a writer, Tim Madigan, and his friendship with Mr. Rogers that began after he wrote a story about him. What seemed like it would just be a nice acquaintanceship turned into a full blown friendship.
I would suggest this book. We follow Tim through some tough times in his life, an almost failed marriage, and a brother that died of cancer, but through it all Mr. Rogers helps him to see the good things in life, and helps him believe that he's someone to be proud of. I found myself getting emotional during a few parts, and then wondering why I was getting so emotional, but then realizing that it's because Mr. Rogers truly understood Tim down to his soul, and understood the nature of humans and knew what each person needed that he came in contact with, and proceeded to give it to them.
Anyway, read it. It's really touching. If anyone is going through a tough time, specifically, let me know if you're willing to read it. I'll lend it to you. You never know, it might help, and if nothing else, maybe it can provide some inspiration to spark some change in feeling and thinking.

Touching

I had heard what a wonderful man Fred Rogers was in person. Now I can see why. He was someone special. His friend Tim Madigan gives insight about what friendship and love are all about.

Recommended Read

If you are looking for a quick read, that is also inspiring, this is the book. This book gives the reader a first hand account of what a day in the life of Mr. Rogers was like. For some of us we only could imagine. This is an honest account of friendship, depression, loss, hope, and family.<BR/><BR/>I read this book in one sitting. Make sure you have tissues on hand.

Wonderful story

I only wish the author was as close of a friend to Mr. Rogers as Mr. Rogers was to him. That statement will probably only make sense when you read the book. Mr. Rogers was a special person and the world needs more people like him.

A Must Read

This is one of the best books I have ever read. I had no idea Fred Rogers was the caring, kind man revealed in this book.

THE POWER OF MISTER ROGERS!

Have you ever doubted that TV's 'Mister Rogers' wasn't the same sunny personality off-screen? Here's proof that Fred Rogers was the real deal. Author Tim Madigan, working as a Texas journalist in 1995, profiled children¿s TV show legend Mister Rogers. One assignment grew into a years-long friendship. This is NOT a biography of Fred Rogers. However, ¿I¿m Proud of You¿ is an uplifting tale of how Rogers remained the same loving, supportive soul that young viewers knew. As the journalist and the PBS icon exchanged letters and e-mails, Madigan recalled he felt as if ¿I was corresponding with God himself.¿ The author entrusted the ordained Presbyterian minister-turned-TV celebrity with his closest secrets. Rogers called these Madigan¿s ¿Furies.¿ When Madigan divulged his shaky marriage in 1997, Rogers replied, ¿I would never forsake you.¿ Madigan told Rogers of his stormy relationship with a father who never seemed satisfied with him. Rogers thereafter ended every letter and e-mail with ¿IPOY--I¿m proud of you.¿ When Madigan¿s younger brother Steve was dying of cancer, Rogers reached out again. The two friends shared their love of reading with each other. Ironically, one of the books Rogers sent Madigan was ¿Tuesdays With Morrie.¿ Perhaps Fred saw parallels in their own relationship? Madigan reflects with love and gratitude his spiritual bond with Fred Rogers, and how that friendship transformed his own roles of son, husband brother and father. When Madigan penned a tribute to Fred Rogers following his 2003 death, hundreds of readers thanked him. ¿I was pleased to assure the readers that Fred Rogers and Mister Rogers were indeed one and the same, and that in real life Fred was as he appeared on television, the gentle embodiment of goodness and grace,¿ he writes. Anyone with past or present in their lives would be heartened by this book.

Beautiful and fulfilling

I grew up in the 1980s, a big fan of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and I was definitely influenced by Mr. Rogers' positivity and love as a child. This book is a wonderful portrayal of a grace-filled, loving man. I also found this book to be extremely hard-warming when looking at Mr. Madigan's friendship with Mr. Rogers. 'What is it like to experience suffering with (the aid of) someone like that?' Mr. Madigan asked at a Barnes & Noble event where I saw him speak. In his book, he openly discusses his suffering and Mr. Rogers' role in his healing. It is a beautiful story of overcoming one's suffering and, as someone who has suffered tremendously recently, I gained a lot of faith and hope from this memoir. He talks openly and honestly about both the pain and the immeasurable love and beauty of the human experience, and his friendship with Mr. Rogers is a beautiful example of the connectedness of the human experience.

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No text was provided for this review.