One weekend, out of curiosity, I cracked it open and couldn't put the book down. Within the pages of Same Kind of Different As Me, I found a compelling story about two men: Ron and Denver, the unlikely friendship formed between them, and God's redemptive story weaved throughout their shared lives.
The story of Same Kind of Different As Me is entirely nonfictional, which is the best kind worth telling. While it is a tale of deep pain and difficult circumstances, what is beautiful about the book is the element of nearly-unbelievable redemption.
A poor, black man who is bitter and penniless ends up graciously loving those who hate him and closing a few high-level art deaks, while a self-absorbed aristocrat ends up serving at a local homeless shelter and inviting the poor into his home. This simple story of friendship calls you to evaluate your life in light of the greatest love and compassion.
The synopsis of Same Kind of Different As Me is as follows (thanks to Amazon.com):
A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery.
An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel.
A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream.
A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it.
It begins outside a burning plantation hut in Louisiana . . . and an East Texas honky-tonk . . . and, without a doubt, in the heart of God. It unfolds in a Hollywood hacienda . . . an upscale New York gallery . . . a downtown dumpster . . . a Texas ranch.
Gritty with pain and betrayal and brutality, this true story also shines with an unexpected, life-changing love.
The book opens with the reader being immersed into the two parallel stories of two completely different men -- both from the South, both searching for meaning in different ways. Roughly every other chapter is narrated by one of the two men, and rightly so. It is after all, their story of friendship.
Ron is an affluent, Caucasian art dealer who makes it big, but his life begins to change when he and his wife start intentionally spending time with the poor. Eventually, their paths cross with an older black man who has lived as a sharecropper (a nice word for a modern-day slave), convict, and homeless vagrant; these various life experiences have deeply embittered him, especially towards white, rich people.
However, hate and prejudice are overcome by love and grace -- best exemplified by those are supporting the main characters. The story of Ron and Denver, rather, is really a story of humility, of learning that true friendship is birthed out of a healthy understanding of who one really is, warts and all.
Ron's moments of realization that are provoked by Denver's simple worldview are enough to convict the reader of over-analyzing simple things in life, like loving someone no matter what, learning to live within your means, and not getting too caught up in material possessions.
One of the best lines in Same Kind of Different is when the men are discussing fishing. Ron confesses that he's not much of a fisherman, but answers some of Denver's curious questions about "how white people fish." He's surprised to hear about a certain phenomenon in which white people do what's called "catch-and-release fishing." He can't believe that someone would actually throw back perfectly good food. He then uses this as an illustration to explain how if Ron is only looking for a "catch-and-release" friendship, then he better consider looking elsewhere. Through their shared experiences, the two men begin to see the world through the other person's eyes and are changed for the better because of it.
I can't say enough good things about Same Kind of Different As Me, but honestly, I don't want to ruin it. The narrative is told creatively - both in the voice of Ron's polished, educated tone and Denver's rough, illiterate vernacular (someone had to transcribe it for him). The end result is a fabulous work of nonfiction that strikes the reader with the beauty that comes out of difficult and painful situations and how God can redeem just about anything.
The awkward friendship between a white man and a black man that begins over coffee eventually evolves into the two sharing their lives with one another, even going on road trips together. It's a bit of a feel-good book, but I confess that I, at times, wept through this profoundly touching tale of friendship.
This is a must-read for anyone who loves a great story that challenges the reader to live more courageously.
