Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz, is thrust into an interesting situation in his latest memoir, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life, when he receives a call from a director and cinematographer who are eager to turn his years-old memoir, Blue Like Jazz, into an independent film. As Don, Steve and Ben meet to begin fictionalizing Don's story, Don comes to the realization that his life has stalled and isn't as screenworthy as he would like it to be, so he sets out to inject more intentionality into his existence.
Miller's honesty and transparency, his acknowledgment that he is fallible, is both heartbreaking and endearing. Miller's confusion, suffering and tenderness of spirit, his King-David-like crying out to God in the depths of his disappointment, and his actions, imbued with a strong desire to create a better story and dotted with humor, made for an interesting memoir.
As an added surprise, Don's book spoke to me as a writer as he learns for himself and teaches his readers about story, protagonists, antagonists, and inciting incidents.
But his book also spoke to me as one who is Written by the One who wants to make a better story of my life, "the One who knows a better story."
If you enjoy the works of writer Anne Lamott, or if you're feeling that your real life needs a bit of editing, or if you'd like to delve into the mind of Don the Writer, then you'll be right at home peddling A Million Miles in a Thousand Years along with Donald Miller.
For your chance to win a free copy of this new book, leave a comment in the comment field. One reader will be chosen at random on Friday, October 2nd to receive a complimentary copy of A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Leave your comment today for your chance to win!
