Greenlights
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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 6 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE! Now with exclusive new content from the paperback edition, the life-changing memoir that has inspired millions of readers through the Academy Award–winning actor’s unflinching honesty, unconventional wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction.
“The No. 1 celebrity memoir of the past 10 years.”—USA Today
“McConaughey’s book invites us to grapple with the lessons of his life as he did—and to see that the point was never to win, but to understand.”—Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
I’ve been in this life for fifty years, been trying to work out its riddle for forty-two, and been keeping diaries of clues to that riddle for the last thirty-five. Notes about successes and failures, joys and sorrows, things that made me marvel, and things that made me laugh out loud. How to be fair. How to have less stress. How to have fun. How to hurt people less. How to get hurt less. How to be a good man. How to have meaning in life. How to be more me.
Recently, I worked up the courage to sit down with those diaries. I found stories I experienced, lessons I learned and forgot, poems, prayers, prescriptions, beliefs about what matters, some great photographs, and a whole bunch of bumper stickers. I found a reliable theme, an approach to living that gave me more satisfaction, at the time, and still: If you know how, and when, to deal with life’s challenges—how to get relative with the inevitable—you can enjoy a state of success I call “catching greenlights.”
So I took a one-way ticket to the desert and wrote this book: an album, a record, a story of my life so far. This is fifty years of my sights and seens, felts and figured-outs, cools and shamefuls. Graces, truths, and beauties of brutality. Getting away withs, getting caughts, and getting wets while trying to dance between the raindrops.
Hopefully, it’s medicine that tastes good, a couple of aspirin instead of the infirmary, a spaceship to Mars without needing your pilot’s license, going to church without having to be born again, and laughing through the tears.
It’s a love letter. To life.
It’s also a guide to catching more greenlights—and to realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green too.
Good luck.
Dawn McClure –
McConaughey scores a winner!
I have always thought Matthew McConaughey is a great actor; I especially loved him in True Detective (the first one). But it wasn’t until my agent recommended I read Greenlights that I got to know the amazing human being behind the actor. McConaughey has this incredible philosophical way of turning any, and every, bad thing that has happened in his life into a desirable outcome. He adores his wife (which how they met is a great story) & he loves his family & God.I would consider myself blessed if I am ever cast as an extra in one of his movies. This book is a MUST read! Trust me.
The Duke –
Motivational and funny book!
LOVE this book. Truly inspirational and motivating. Told with just the right amount of humor as well. This book will show you that life has ups and downs. Its the choices we make that makes this life worth living. Highly recommend.
Cleveland, Ohio Consumer –
Great Story!
Excellent read. Well written and interesting.
Aran Joseph Canes –
Gather Around the Campfire
Greenlights is a remarkable first book from an already renowned artist. Kind of a mashup of Anthony Bourdain with Ernest Hemingway, McConaughey tells stories with the aplomb of accomplished raconteur. Part memoir, part life guide and part ethic Greenlights is worth reading for many beyond McConaughey’s fan base; basically anyone who likes a good man’s man adventure story.Born into the lower middle class in East Texas, McConaughey looks back nostalgically at a childhood few would envy. His parents divorced and remarried each other twice, he was subject to corporal punishment and money was always an issue. Yet he doesn’t complain about disadvantage. In fact he honors his parents despite their shortcomings. He adheres to a philosophy of choosing to recalibrate what seems like the inevitable until it turns into a green light or way forward in life.After a rite of passage involving brawling with a barroom bouncer, McConaughey pursued acting with the drive and hard work ethic that was instilled into him. Finding early success, he choose to live in a way directly opposite to the Hollywood scene. Traveling the country with his dog, going off on expeditions to the middle of Africa and South America, McConaughey sees livin (drop the g to indicate it’s always a verb) as more than just the material success and creature comforts many of us settle on.Finally, after years of womanizing, McConaughey settled into a successful monogamous relationship and fulfilled his life long ambition of being a father. Nearly simultaneously he chose to walk away from lucrative rom-coms to focus on something more artistic. Initially successful in winning an Oscar for the Dallas Buyers Club, McConaughey admits that he hasn’t achieved the popular success he envisioned. But that is all grist for the mill, experiments in livin that are ongoing.If this is the kind of man you would like to read about, Greenlights will be an enjoyable and inspirational read. It’s rare that a successful actor has such a distinctive off air personality. But if you’re turned off by physical conflict, wild adventures and a man who brags about rarely showering alone than Greenlights is not for you.Personally, while not finding all parts of McConaughey’s biography admirable, I found enough of him to be so different than what Hollywood typically churns out that the book was worth reading. Recommended to all who feel they’re similarly traveling in unmapped regions and want to gather around the campfire to hear a fellow wanderer’s tales.
SassyFrass –
Best audio book out
The best audio book I’ve listened to in awhile! Made me laugh and made me cry and made me think! Thank you Mathew- I bought one for each of my grandkids as well as my husband. I loved it!!
Rich Bakke –
Great read
Very entertaining. Fast read. Makes you want to watch more of his movies.
Annie Cathryn –
Real and Raw
Listening to Matthew McConaughey is like sitting in a small-town bar enjoying a beer with an old high school buddy while John Mellencamp strums his guitar through the speakers—familiar, real, and raw.I chose to listen to Greenlights because I wanted to hear Matthew McConaughey’s words in his Texan twang. Then I bought the hardcover for the pictures. Not knowing much about him, I didn’t have expectations other than thinking the book would be glamourous and glitzy like all of Hollywood. Boy, was I wrong.I had seen a few of his movies and enjoyed all of them—even the romantic comedies, which he chose to step away from to rebrand himself. I honestly didn’t realize how interesting Matthew was until listening to his book.Matthew (don’t call him Matt) writes his book based on his diaries he kept over the years and views life as catching a series of greenlights—signs that say keep going and carry on. “This book is about catching greenlights and realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green.”Growing up, he subscribed to outlaw logic—bar fights, rites of passages, cussing, concussions, and scars—making him appear a little cocky with a tough exterior. Yet he comes across as likable and down to earth with his Ram truck and charm that seduced all the ladies.He recounts many adventures through Australia, South America, and Africa, leaving the reader wondering how many of his stories are exaggerated. That aside, he is an incredible storyteller, interweaving nuggets of wisdom throughout like, “Sometimes we need to leave what we know to find out what we know.”I am a travel lover too, so I enjoyed how he packed up and left whenever he wanted. Ah, the sweet freedom. Not on a private jet or a yacht—he drove a van he named “Cosmo,” hooked up an Airstream to the back of it, and traversed the U.S., stopping at trailer parks. In my mind, celebrities travel in style with an entourage or a bodyguard, but Matthew set out on his own with his dog and took the dirt roads (cue up John Mellencamp’s “Small Town” song here). Many of the lessons he learned in life came from his travels, and he shares them in this book.After he became famous from the movie A Time to Kill, he traveled somewhere to find answers, and that somewhere made me gasp—The Monastery of Christ in the Desert in Abiquiu, New Mexico. Up until last year, my dad lived down the road from this monastery, and I had visited it in 1996. It’s secluded and in the middle of the desert. Matthew’s mention of Abiquiu, a town of 231 people, took me completely by surprise. This part of his journey brought tears to my eyes because I had experienced similar feelings that he divulged at the exact place he was feeling them, and around the same time! “Sometimes we don’t need advice. Sometimes we just need to hear we’re not the only one.”Although he talks about acting, it’s secondary to getting to know Matthew as a person. However, now I want to go back and watch his other movies. I think I’ll see him through a new lens of appreciation and understanding.Overall, this was an uplifting read with a lot of great takeaways from a man who has lived and traveled through many green lights.
Michaela Moon –
Great book. Easy read, yet enlightening!
Amazing book. I actually bought for afriend and read the first chapter and bought another for myself.
Gabriel –
Muito bom!! Além de permitir conhecer mais a pessoa, ele traz várias lições de vida úteis
John Pol M. Calucag –
Received in excellent condition and the print is fine…
Vic –
read Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey, and it was an unforgettable experience:🔹 Entertaining and candid storytelling: McConaughey delivers his life story with his signature humor and charm. The book is filled with colorful, sometimes outrageous anecdotes that keep you hooked from start to finish.🔹 Wisdom in unconventional places: The “greenlights” concept, as McConaughey explains, represents those moments in life when things align, and you’re on the right track. The book offers practical advice and “outlaw wisdom” for anyone looking for motivation or guidance in life, all wrapped in his unique, free-spirited style.🔹 Relatable and inspiring: Whether you’re a fan of McConaughey’s acting or not, the book resonates because it’s about more than fame – it’s about life, growth, and making the most of your time. He shares lessons learned through his ups and downs, which can be applied to personal and professional challenges.🔹 A raw and honest read: McConaughey is unapologetically honest, making this an introspective journey not only into his life but also into the deeper aspects of human nature, success, and happiness.💡In summary, Greenlights is more than just a celebrity memoir – it’s a guide to living life with authenticity, humor, and resilience. It’s an inspiring read for anyone looking to embrace the “greenlights” in their own journey. 🌟📖
Galo –
Muy buen libro en muchos sentidos, me ayudo bastante en mi ingles y me enseño grandes mensajes de la vida
Jezza –
Good read and cheap purchase price.