A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is a memoir by Donald Miller, based on the idea of story as a metaphor of life. As someone who likes to write, I love his premise:
“I started thinking differently about life when I met a couple of filmmakers who wanted to make a movie about a memoir I’d written. I wrote a memoir several years ago that sold a lot of copies. I got a big head about it for a while and thought I was an amazing writer or something, but I’ve written books since that haven’t sold, so I’m insecure again and things are back to normal” (page 9).
The book is a loose account of how the two filmmakers write and develop a plot for the movie. They come into Don’s life at a time when he has lost direction and motivation. Don has a moment of revelation when he is told: “A story is a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it” (page 48).
It is at this point, Don realizes that his own life is a story. He then begins to take steps to discover what it is that he wants to do with his life and how to overcome his own inner conflict, in order to get it. Don shares many helpful insights in his journey of self-discovery and self-awareness.
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is well-written, amusing and perceptive.
A good read.
