Becoming a “man” isn’t a new idea – there are centuries of precedence. But it’s been pretty much forgotten – especially in terms of some sort of ceremony, some sort of moment.

Developing Manhood From Boyhood

Highlights from the interview:

• When does a boy become a man? If you’re a man and you’re reading this, there probably isn’t one moment you can pinpoint.
• Becoming a “man” isn’t a new idea – there are centuries of precedence. But it’s been pretty much forgotten – especially in terms of some sort of ceremony, some sort of moment.
• Feeding and clothing and sending your son to school isn’t enough. It’s a start, but that’s what it is – a start.
• These are some things that Evan did with his son in helping him to become a man: he prepared him for relationships, he showed him how to love a woman, he used the community of men around him to tell his son about their failures and what they learned from them, his son went into a place of solitude in the wilderness, his son’s mother wrote him a letter saying goodbye to him as a child, and they had a big ceremony to celebrate him becoming a man.
• On writing the book: If you want to write a book but don’t know if you can write a book, think of it less as writing a book and more as telling a story.

Listen to the episode for the full story.

Stacy’s Journal

Welcome to Stacy’s Journal! In this segment, I let you peek into my journal as I share my thoughts on a topic or resilience resource. Evan’s interview got me thinking about those things we need to teach our children, but often miss out on. We are really not raising kids, are we? We’re really raising adults. We want our kids to grow up to be healthy and happy. In order to do that, we need to teach them a lot of things that aren’t taught in school. That goes for girls as well as boys. And it really does take a community. Maybe think about some of the kids that are in your life, whether it’s your own, or your nieces or nephews, grandkids, neighbor kids, or kids you are connected to in other ways. In what way can you, and I, help mold those kids, help them mature with the tools, skillset, and understanding they need to become resilient adults? What rites of passage need to come about? Who do you need to take under your wing or give a little advice to? I’m going to ponder that myself.

That’s all we have for today. Last episode, Matt Gagnon discussed methods to gracefully weather life’s transitions – so if you’ve had a recent transition in your life, or are going through one now, you might want to go back and have a listen. Next week, we’ll interview Ed Cyzewski, author of Coffeehouse Theology.

I love interacting with our listeners on social media. We’re on Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube, and just about anywhere you can hold a great virtual conversation. Plus, I answer all my emails personally, so feel free to email me: stacy{at}stacybrookman{dot}com.

100 Most Important Memoirs

of the Past 200 Years

This week’s memoir is: Karen Blixen’s Out of Africa written in 1937. Click on the graphic to learn about this memoir and all of the most important memoirs of the past 200 years…