A Teacher's Final Quest to Discover Life's Greatest Lessons

David Menasche's "The Priority List" is an excellent example of how one person can change the world for the better. While Menasche may no longer be able to teach in the classroom, he still continues to educate people through his words, and most importantly his actions. As you journey through the pages, you realize that he has not only discovered his purpose in life, but that he is willing to stay the course regardless of the challenges he faces. For his students, he gifted them with the ability to be able to determine their own meaningful life path, and now he has expanded his classroom to encompass us all. For me, this book is the food that feeds my soul.

What an inspiration. A heartbreaking, yet uplifting memoir. I loved every minute of it and actually sat down and read it all the way through. A highly recommended purchase... I even bought a second copy and gave it as a gift to someone who needed a pick-me-up. :)

As a fellow teacher in Miami, and the founder and president of a non-profit foundation that funds brain tumor research and provides patient services, I was obviously intrigued by "The Priority List". I coincidentally discovered its existence through mutual friends on Facebook and was serendipitously in New Orleans on vacation when I read it, in its entirety, within a few hours. I couldn't put it down, as it is such an inspiring read. David did an amazing job of taking something so raw and real, and helping me, the reader, find comfort in his strength. I feel as if I know Menasche personally after reading this book and can only hope to have forever inspired a few students myself along the way. I hope I can look back on my teaching career one day, and find the kind of solace he has, in knowing I made a difference in a child's life.

Deeply moving dialogue of a teacher who has lived his "soul purpose" and inspired others to live theirs. Menasche also provides some hard truths about surviving a cancer diagnosis and the courage it takes to say "I Decide" As an oncology nurse I applauded his "strength" Live well!

Deeply moving dialogue of a teacher who has lived his "soul purpose" and inspired others to live theirs. Menasche also provides some hard truths about surviving a cancer diagnosis and the courage it takes to say "I Decide" As an oncology nurse I applauded his "strength" Live well!

This is definitely one of those rare books that you cannot put down from start to finish. I found it humbling and courageous that David wanted to spend his last possible moments on this earth seeing if he did truly make a difference to his kids. His journey is delivered in such a kind tribute to him and those that took the time to carry him through his journey. You may shed some tears but in the end will close this book with a smile on your face.

My recommendation of this book sits solely with my personal connection to its material. May every individual who is thinking about making teaching their life's ambition or even the seasoned veteran looking for an opportunity to renew their sense of purpose as an educator, take the time to enjoy this short , yet compelling read.

After seeing an interview on TV, I ordered the book and immediately sat down on a Saturday afternoon to enjoy and benefit from this inspirational story. In a way, it reminded me a little of "The Last Lecture" and "The Ultimate Gift"- both books about living one's best life and did it make a difference. As a teacher, who has always believed in "making a difference" and "paying it forward", this book helps to validate one's efforts do matter. This is a heartfelt story about a teacher diagnosed with brain cancer, who sets out to visit former students and reaffirms our "own priority lists."

This book is the epitome of true dedication and passion for teaching. As a former student who sat through each one of his lectures, it is safe to say that David Menasche has taught everyone, student of his or not, valuable life lessons. This book illustrates his love for teaching perfectly as well as takes you through his vision quest with him. His passion for survival and purpose as shown in the book makes me reevaluate what I call "struggles" in my life. This is a great read and I highly recommend it.

A beautifully written personal story that is thought provoking and engaging. David's teachings show how we can choose to live a fulfilling life despite adversity and personal challenges. You will certainly shed some tears, have some laughs and remember his teachings for years to come. An easy read for which you are certain to go back to again and again.

I agree with the other reviewers who pointed out the author's narcissism and bombastic tone. There is no depth and nothing to be learned here. It also ticked me off that he was an English teacher and yet the book is written on a third grade reading level with bad grammar to boot.

Imagine being in the prime of your life. You develop a ringing in your ear that progresses into a constant discomfort that now resonates to your feet. You finally give in and make a doctor’s appointment only to be told that it is glioblastoma. This is not your life plan. A blueprint that only gives you 15 months to live. A preordained strategy that will rob you of your passion for teaching.

David (Da-Veed) Menache did not choose teaching, it chose him the day that he visited a first grade class and read to them. The children were enraptured and when David had the class write their own poems, he was sold when he saw the looks in their eyes. Flash forward to his current day when he has to explain to his advanced English class at a progressive Coral Springs, Florida high school that their beloved teacher was just diagnosed with cancer. There were questions and tears, but what remained was a man and his influence over his students. A man that ate, slept, and breathed education. A man that had to find a new normal and not let his students down.

As his condition deteriorated and he was no longer able to enter a classroom, David decides that he wanted to travel. To see his past students and to see if what he had instilled in his classroom had lasting effects on those that he had dedicated so much to. His whole adult life was teaching what he loved, teaching was what he did, and who he was. It was now time to see their stories. Putting his treatments on pause, he took the greatest leap of all.

The ‘Priority List’ title comes from an assignment that he had given to his student. Placing words in order of their importance, each student used different terms depending on what was going on in their lives at the time. We can each do this simple task. Who we are and what we think will change over time and situation, but still, we each have priorities.

Interspersed with book titles, poems, quotes, and notes from previous students, David Menasche takes us through his journey and his priorities to see the man that he had become through his teaching and opening up to his students during the most difficult years of his life.

One-hundred and one days, thirty-one cities, and seventy-five students later he has succeeded; he had succeeded in his goal of getting his confidence back after cancer had stolen it from him. On his final trip, he was able to stop being the teacher and become the student. He was able to see in person whom they had become. In return, his students were able to see him – foibles and all – and once again, connect with the man that was so instrumental in their lives.

David Menasche died on November 20, 2014, at the age of 41.

This book did not make make my priority reading list until a neighbor and friend recommended it to me. Friend reading recommendations are automatically a high priority for me. After all, when I finish reading the book I have a guaranteed discussion on a book we have both read, and they have thought highly enough of me, themselves and the book that the book is a guaranteed "match". While reading it, another friend noticed the title and asked me multiple times, "Is it depressing?". I responded with a firm, no, it is not. It is uplifting.

Yes, this book is a personal non-fiction story of a young teacher's diagnosis of brain cancer with an initial diagnosis of maybe a few months to live. From this point in David 's story, we learn about his treatments, declining abilities, and eventual loss of the one life activity that for him was at the top of his priority list - Teaching. Brain cancer and the treatments for the disease eventually led him to the decision to stop treatments (against family and medical advice) and embark on a vision quest across the US to visit students he had taught AP English. It was near the end of his 101 day travels that his wife and he decided to separate after many years of marriage.

The book ends in 2012 with David still alive and living in New Orleans after moving from Florida!

The major lesson I Have learned from David Mensche's story is that when and if we receive the diagnosis that we have a fatal illness, choosing to continue to live near remain in charge as much as one can can be done.

At the end of David Mensche's story, I am left wanting to read the story of David from his wife Paula's point of view. Of course there is the story of her life with David before the diagnosis of brain cancer, but she must have traveled a very difficult path in her marriage and life after David's diagnosis. I wonder whether there are published accounts similar to hers. That would be a book to find and read.

A teacher learns lessons in acceptance, independence, respect and travel as he makes a pilgrimage towards death. In 2006, David Menasche was a high school English teacher living in Florida, married to a fellow teacher and in the prime of his career, when he learned that he had a cancerous brain tumor. His reaction to this challenge makes an inspiring memoir that, remarkably, he was able to pen after more than three months of travel to 11 states across America to prove that, as he often repeats, “Hey, I’ve got this,” a mantra that reminds him, and others, that he can deal with his highly unusual circumstances.

Initially it wasn’t so easy. The news at first felt as tragic for Menasche as it would for anyone. He spent seven tough years letting medical science do its work, with radiation, MRIs, seizure meds, and a gradual breakdown of body systems that showed his brain just wasn’t doing its job. He lost much of his sight, and became clumsy and half-crippled. He was nauseous much of the time. Still, he kept reaching and motivating his students, who were well aware of his increasing disablement and impressed with his courage.

"...[a] poignant story, which would not have been feasible were it not for Menasche’s strong personality and ever-renewing sense of purpose --- and, it must be said, his sense of humor..."
Menasche finally, reluctantly, quit his job. In 2012, feeling he had reached the end of his string and no longer wishing to try any further therapies, he devised his own "treatment plan" based on a list of priorities for his remaining time. He would visit former students, wherever that took him and however difficult it might be. Through cyber contacts and fundraising, he was able to set out with a backpack and a cane, moving mostly by bus and train, and meet with people whose lives he had touched, who respected him and were willing to repay him with a few hours or days of their time.

That remarkable journey forms the bulk of this poignant story, which would not have been feasible were it not for Menasche’s strong personality and ever-renewing sense of purpose --- and, it must be said, his sense of humor, sometimes self-deprecating (forced to hitchhike at one point, he moans, “Can you imagine how insulting it is to be limping with a cane, with your thumb out, and nobody stops?”). His travels cost him his marriage, independent living became a necessity he hadn’t bargained for, and dependence followed as his body continued to feel the strains of his illness. Still, he has no complaints; he just feels “blessed.”

Menasche works as an Ambassador for Voices Against Brain Cancer and lives with friends in New Orleans. Many of the book’s chapters end with moving testimonials from many of the students about whom he writes, young people whose lives were changed by his unique, inventive, personal approach to teaching. “You continue to teach, inspire and encourage me.” “Menasche is not only looking into the darkness, but also walking through it, into the unknown.” “Hundreds walk with you daily.” “He wasn’t going to let illness get in the way of his students’ growth.” “Thank you, Menasche, for insisting…for planting that seed…”

Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott

Having had Mr. Menasche as my 11th grade AP English teacher, holding his book in my hands is akin to sitting back in classroom 211. His class wasn't just about proper syntax or reading poems, and this book isn't just another story about one man's struggle to overcome cancer. He took us fledgling young adults and showed us the hidden beauty and messages beneath the author's words. He ignited a thirst for knowledge, a desire for understanding, a need for more than ordinary. He knew that we were capable of more than we knew ourselves, and through his curricular and non-curricular lessons (ie, The Priority List), we too learned our potential. His book details his cross-country travels, his struggles and triumphs over cancer, and the lessons he learned along the way. If you or someone you know would enjoy an exceptional - and true - story about one mans journey to self-acceptance and happiness, please do yourself a favor and buy this book. Many laughs and tears were shed as I read this book, and I will continue to laugh and cry as I reread this book for years to come. Highly, highly recommended.

My thanks to David Menasche and all his students over the year and Goodreads First Reads Giveaway for my copy of The Priority List.

David Menasche wrote his story as a very special teacher that really listened to his students, gave them the support they needed and a passion for learning but also for living life to the fullest. He lived what he taught, as a truly great teacher. After forty-three years as an educator, often not doing what was expected but what I felt my children needed; he has the highest respect one teacher can give another. Thanks for sharing your passion, quest and my wish for you is contentment in knowing you have done a good job as a teacher.

Who can miss reading about a teacher's inspiring love for his students and the love they returned when he became fatally ill? I loved Menasche's attitude towards both life and pending death and I hope it's changed my own spirit. Rather than succumb to cancer, Menasche chose to stop treatment and make a last pass at the people he loved. He didn't give up but dove in headlong, milking that final time for all it was worth. I particularly liked Menasche's quote of Mark Twain: "Normally, I would have been afraid, but the closer I got to dying, the more adventuresome I became. Mark Twain said, 'I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.' I couldn't agree more."

I decided to read The Priority List by David Manasche because the title seemed to indicate that it would be about what are the important priorities in life, written by a person whose life was severely threatened by brain cancer. However the book is more about how good Manasche was as a teacher at a Miami high school and the positive effect he had on his students. In the book he covers his early life and dedication to teaching and then his actual teaching and finally what he does when he can no longer teach. Each chapter ends with a statement of praise of Manasche by one of his former students. Finally after six years of standard treatments Manasche decides to do what apparently is his highest priority, which is go on a cross-country trip to visit his former students who effusively praise him.

I sympathize with anyone in such a situation, but Manasche does not really provide any insights into what one’s priorities in life should be.

A very open account of this amazing teacher's personal, professional, spiritual and relational journey while living (not dying) with cancer. Inspiring, honest, profound and humbling. Being from Miami and having had my own child as his student years ago, I can verify every bit of truth written by him and about him (in the testimonial sections). It's all legit. My son was personally impacted by his experiences in David Menasche's classroom years ago. He is the real deal. No fiction here. He spoke in a captivating way with depth and courage with penetrating truth, making you re-think your life priorities. You'll laugh and you'll cry. You will be inspired with a renewed sense of hope in human kind! I recommend it 100% for anyone high school age and up.

This book is powerful, raw, and inspirational. It reads quickly because you get so into David's world that you become a passenger in his travels and his life. I love that he speaks so truthfully about taboo subjects like divorce, faults with modern medicine, drugs, and death that you know he is speaking from the heart while, as he is so good at, teaching us a lesson about how to truly live.

David Menasche was enjoyable to read. He dedicated his life to his students and as a result of his tumor, he overcame many obstacles to see how his love for his students had affected them in their adult lives. The Journey allowed him to feel that because of his teaching and challenging his students, he had made a contribution to their adult lives.

While spending so much time preparing and working with his students and advancing his teaching career,David may have neglected his relationship with his wife. I realize that his illiness took its toll on him, as well as his whole family, His wife shouldered most of the day to day care for him and his family stood by David and his wife. However, while on his journey David asked to come home and his wife resisted. David did not mention her again in his book

I sit here at three in the morning definitely better, more appreciative and comforted. The prose of such a humbling narrative captures what it means to be human, to enjoy the spiritual highs, varied experiences, and understand that the only condition forced upon it all is to live. Thank you Menasche.

I attended Coral Reef and did not have Menasche as a teacher but many of my friends did. I saw the impact he had on his students first hand. The world needs more people like this man. He is a true inspiration. This was the best book I have read in a long time.

I purchased this book expecting the wisdom of a dying teacher, a lesson about real priorities and lessons learned. Instead, I found the story of a teacher who became popular with his troubled students by advising them to take chances in love and the pursuit of their dreams, yet misses the point himself, even in the end. The book teaches nothing about priorities or commitment or even bravery. Sadly, the author fails to see that his need for student adoration kept him from living his own life . As a teacher, he became an "expert" sage, without any accomplishments or experience of his own: one job, no children, and a wife he never takes the time to love. Even in the end, when he claims to realize that he wants his marriage, he makes no effort to fight for it. It remains all about him to the end. If courage is cutting off chemo in your last months to hitchhike and get a few tattoos while reliving high school memories, then he deserves the Silver Star, but having known true heroes, it is not.

This book teaches a point by missing it. Don't be so self-absorbed that you list life's real priorities: love your wife and family by spending time with them, be humble before God, and practice what you preach/teach. I suspect that the author was a nice man and a good communicator, but this book should not be mistaken for wisdom. The title alone is misleading.