One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School by Scott Turow

I once considered applying to law school because I didn’t know what I wanted to do after graduation. Furthermore, as an undergraduate studying Political Science, I was surrounded by fellow students who were planning on going to law school. It seemed like a reasonable next step.

Then, I thought about it. All I really knew about lawyers was that they seemed to work a lot and make a lot of money. I didn’t want to do either of those. And I didn’t think about law school again.

This book is about Scott Turow’s first year of law school at Harvard in the 1970s.

I was fascinated! So much pressure and competition…I actually found myself feeling nervous at one point in the book. I was also relieved that I decided against law school. I don’t think I would have lasted a day.

PS: My friend, Grace, who did go to law school says that the first year was stressful, but not as stressful as what Turow describes.