Gill, Michael Gates: How Starbucks Saved My Life

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Michael Gates Gill's memoir How Starbucks Saved My Life is the story of a son of privilege turned corporate bastard who finds happiness in his mid-60s in a downsized life and a Tall Latte. Gill's account of his new career as a regular-guy barista at a New York City Starbucks is punctuated, a little clumsily, by flashbacks of his previous life as an advertising executive who rubbed elbows with literary celebrities and royalty. It's hard to like the old Michael Gill, who was basically a spoiled jerk who subordinated his family life to his career. In his new persona he comes off as a sort of man child--not particularly intelligent, on the face of it at least, despite his Ivy League credentials--who's experienced the high life but not real life. It's a good thing that he's morphed into someone who can appreciate the little people as more than stepping stones, but the transformation comes sadly late. How Starbucks Saved My Life is readable and quick, awkward and overly sentimental in parts, and it comes across sometimes as a lengthy ad for the coffee chain. But the book's message is of course a good one.