This has got to be one of the best books on God … and on writing (maybe even the best on the latter) … that I’ve read in a long time. It’s a smooth read, and one that will keep you interested and not wanting to put it down. Miller has an comfortable style; most of the time it’s as if he’s talking to you.
How I came to read this book is yet another illustration of why I love Twitter so much. When I finally realized I could read Kindle books on my Droid phone (see my prior post, E-Reading!), I tweeted the following:
[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/stephhwilliams/status/19129370186620928″]
Within minutes, I received this reply:
[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/stepmorgan/status/19130338093568001″]
Call me impressionable but I really did want recommendations so, sure enough, I downloaded A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life, by Donald Miller, (and had it on my phone in seconds, a definite bonus).
A Million Miles is the story of Don, who, having written a best-selling memoir, was contacted by two filmmakers about making his book into a movie. Well, at least, that’s the main story that gets everything going.
It’s really a story about Don, who has reached a point in his life where, while perhaps not outright depressed, he doesn’t really believe life has any meaning. We eat – we sleep – we live – we die, sort of thing. At one point, he twists the common metaphor of life as a journey/heaven as destination to paint a picture of travelers arriving at an airport with heavenly cab drivers:
Through his interactions with these two filmmakers, a few others and, particularly, a guy named Bob, Don becomes someone who believes again that there is meaning in life and that that meaning is to live a better story. He compares us to the dog who plays fetch with his owner, getting more and more excited with each throw; and God is watching us and we feed off of Him.
I can’t say enough good things about A Million Miles. Just read it … and then think about what you want your story to be.