Okay, how do I put this delicately? I would much rather have had a) the story of this man's life written by someone else and b) a pamphlet consolidating Charlie's direct wisdom and any reasonable distallation of his life experience as teachings, because I'm pretty sure that's all the space that's actually required. 
Not only did the author feel it necessary to put in a fair amount of his own filtering and filler with opinions and historical facts which at a stretch might be considered context for the life events of Charlie White, but he went into what I consider to be gratuitous detail regarding the death of Charlie's father and his first wife. Maybe it's worth flagging that the nature retreat he went on as a boy may have included the trauma of sexual assault that Charlie didn't want to acknowledge, but I feel really weird about my perception that the author attempted to mortph that into a lesson of resilience. I'll be honest, Charlie's mom may have been a bit neglectful because as a single mother of that many kids she didn't have a choice, but I struggle to see any of the youthful experiences related as anything more than lucky escapes rather than adventures that teach bravery.in the context of a mother who granted her son the gift of early responsibility  and independence. 
Despite championing Stoicism, the author doesn't wander too far into the 'rugged individualism' that has toxified modern American society, but I fear that interpretation is up for grabs among a biased readership. 
The premise of writing a book to aid your kids in navigating the future based on how a man in the past navigated big changes has merit, is even heartwarming, but the tone of the book is uneven, to say the least. 
Among the many tales of being a doctor in the earlier years of the twentieth century, the intern stories are appalling, while the realities of medical breakthroughs quickly falling to the wayside, leading to an understanding of IID, Iterative Incremental Development  as a way to approach change seems valuable. The part where Charlie seemed to council on the side of callousness when it came to ailing loved ones, including one of his wives dying of cancer, not so much. 
I think if you're looking for general life wisdom, there are better sources. I think if you're looking for the story of a spectacular life lived across a recent swath of history, you should be prepared for a bunch of distressing moments, and  to feel ambiguous about the subject at the end of it. 
⚠️child SA, mental health concerns, details of medical procedures, loss of loved one by cancer