Books: Scary Close by Donald Miller

Today’s book is one that changed my life. That gets thrown around a lot, but I read this in two hours in 2015 and realized how much my life needed to change. I had just finalized my divorce, I was broke, and I was struggling with depression. I had the audacity to blame others for my failure. This book set me straight and put me on a path to emotional maturity by admitting that I was the cause of my failures. Many of our likes and listeners are younger (I’m 36), and if I had one piece of advice, it would be to work on emotional maturity in the same way one works on physical health and finances. What matters are the interactions individuals have with the 100 people they see daily. Focusing on making those harmonious and productive will create a freer society. Thanks to this book, years of therapy, and paying attention to mental health, my life has never been happier or more fulfilled. As men, we don’t feel comfortable discussing our emotional lives, but we should set that aside. Personal growth is fundamental to expanding freedom.

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Description

From the author of Blue Like Jazz comes a story about finding the keys to a healthy relationship and discovering they are also the keys to a healthy family, a healthy career, and a healthy mind. And it all feels like a conversation with the best kind of friend: smart, funny, true, important.

After decades of failed relationships and painful drama, Donald Miller decided he’d had enough. Impressing people wasn’t helping him connect with anyone. He’d built a life of public isolation, yet he dreamed of meaningful relationships. So at forty years old he made a scary decision: to be himself no matter what it cost.

Scary Close is a book about the risk involved in choosing to impress fewer people and connect with more, about the freedom that comes when we stop acting and start loving. It is a story about knocking down old walls to create a healthy mind, a strong family, and a satisfying career. And it all feels like a conversation with the best kind of friend: smart, funny, true, important.