Book Review: The Way of the Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge

I began reading this book on our 1 year anniversary trip 4 months ago. On our honeymoon I had begun reading the book Waking The Dead.

I felt that it had some good insights. It leads you through the supposed 6 stages of manhood - Beloved Son, Cowboy, Warrior, Lover, King, Sage. I feel that Beloved Son is a particularly true one. The author claims that each of us has been wounded by our father, and we long to be the beloved son. However, even though the author claims that good fathers are very rare, I am happy to claim that I have felt like I was the beloved son this whole time. Therefore, I found the book to be too pessimistic in this regard. But I imagine it's quite true for some.

I could relate to the Cowboy stage - a time of exploring. Warrior is a time for fighting for something. Lover is a time to find beauty in things - nature and women.

King is a time to rule and have dominion over things. The author claims that this is thrust onto men who are not ready for it. I agree. He thinks such dominion should not be sought, but should only be taken for the greater good. I apply this to my life, in the fact that if I were ever asked to be a manager, I would only do it for the greater good, and not just to be King over something.

The Sage is the time our fathers are in. People go to them for advice. Their time for ruling is pretty much done, and they bless younger men with their experience and wisdom.

The point of the book is that God can help us through these stages, and that we can raise our sons through them.

I felt that the author was over dramatic in some cases. And I sometimes felt that he imposed his values on others, particularly the value of mountain climbing and hunting. I feel that those things are not for everyone. It's also not for everyone to put their sons through initiation ceremonies, and to be dramatic about that as well.

Overall, I say well done, this was a heartfelt and good book about living life as a man. It encouraged me to listen to God more. Also a good tip was that Satan tends to attack us when it's most important, such as during an anniversary. I wish I would have read that part before we got sick on our 1 year anniversary trip! But that was a random piece of advice, I'm not sure which chapter it was in.