Hi ya Gorgeous,
I don't know about your school year, but mine is over! Woo hoo! My son graduated last week and now we are in the blissful time known as "summer vacation". Sort of.
I can agree to a some time off but I can't agree to months of tuning out! He does have some summer camps coming up and in the meantime between now and the next semester starting, he has a summer book club reading list. It's full of Lee Child, Eoin Colfer and World War II history books! One a week. That's all I ask.
Now, I just received a sample copy of a book that may be on his reading list in another couple of years. Special thanks to author Stefan Aarnio for sharing a copy of his latest book, "Hard Times Create Strong Men" - you can get a copy on
Amazon. His first book,
Self Made is available there as well.
This book is written for men and as a woman reading it, I found some sideways insight into what might be the perspective of men in situations that women would see differently. Like dating!
I have a guest podcast appearance coming up where we will be talking about this very subject.
In reading the book it reads in a common speech tone and sounds like one guy talking to another. It's definitely not a PC book and neither is the tone.
What I gathered from reading is a "take charge, take no prisoners, make decisions and stand by them" attitude and less weakness in being in charge of one's own self and life direction.
Topics range from sex, women, family, children, work, money, government, politics and everything that goes with those!
In reading the book, if I were to direct it as a scene in a film, I would definitely start with a father, bringing a journal to a son and asking him to sit down so they can discuss what's inside those hallowed pages.
As I made my way through the sections of the book I can agree with much of what Mister Aarnio is talking about. That there is a gap in boys becoming men because there is a lack of generational transfer in knowledge, skill, craftsmanship and mentoring. It leaves a young man, to seek out the help he needs to grow into a strong man.
Every chapter has a good take away learning point, though page 484 has my favorite. Mr. Aarnio is talking about how he donated to help rebuild Haiti after the devastating earthquake. He traveled to the Haiti to see first hand how the relief effort was impacting the local economy. The donation had built a very small no frills concrete building - not exactly what was described when the donation was made. Sometimes, when the West rushes in with aid to help, like the Red Cross, the help does more harm than good. Because of all the hand outs there was nothing for the local villages to do and they soon learned to rely on the free hand out versus grow their own cotton, to make fabric, to sew clothing to sell. Or grow their own food to feed the families and sell!
This book is a good read. It's large but worth the effort. If you are a mom of boys, this is a good book for you to read. If you are a man, this is worth you taking a look at. Perhaps some of you don't read it cover to cover and instead use it more like a reference manual and go to the sections you need help with in the time of need.
Either way, I liked "Hard Times Create Strong Men" and I think it's relevant to today's culture, our future, and has practical applications that can help a young man change his ways for the better, now!
Get your copy on
Amazon here.
