The
second half of Searching for the Sound by Phil Lesh followed the
impressive precedent set by the first half and was captivating right through to
the very end. In the closing half his story, founding member and bass player
for the Grateful Dead Phil Lesh described in detail the decades following the
formation and initial establishment of the Dead. While the first half of the
autobiography was mainly spent giving accounts of Lesh’s early life leading up
through the formation and beginnings of success for the Grateful Dead, the
second half covered most of the duration of the band’s existence, ending with
band member Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995. The messages conveyed in the second
half of Searching for the Sound took on a more serious light than those
of the first half. During the early years described in the beginning of the
book, youth and love were celebrated and possibilities were endless. As the
band matured, sentiments grew slightly more realistic. A downward spiral into
hard-drug addiction as well as the passing of band members contributed to these
changes of mood. Lesh’s purpose in writing the second half of this book was to
encourage his readers (primarily Grateful Dead fans) to cherish the important
aspects of their lives.
One major factor that distinguished
the first half of this book from the second was the author’s change in tone
from whimsical to serious. The clearest example of this shift came at the very
end of book, when Lesh detailed his reaction to longtime friend and fellow band
member Jerry Garcia’s death. The reader was really able to feel Lesh’s grief
through the remorseful tone. This served as a stunning reminder to us readers
to appreciate the truly important people in our lives. I was particularly
affected by this message of grief and the subsequently learned lesson. As a
lifelong Grateful Dead fan, the pain of Phil over Jerry’s death was
heartbreaking to me, and the prompting to cherish those who are important to me
was very potent.
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