In Fighting Shadows, Jefferson Bethke and Jon Tyson have teamed up to write a book together covering how masculinity is at risk and how there is a dark shadow hurting men. The books idea came from the both of them sitting by a campfire unwinding from retreat. They discussed how men are all facing confusion, fear, and shame. We are facing a generation that is questioning who they are as a man or if they are a woman. They are torn on their identity. They explored how in Ecclesiastes it stated an important question about what is good for a man during the last few years of his life and how he will spend them like a shadow. They referred to the shadows as a man caught between light and darkness. They break down the 7 lies men are encountering in today’s times. The included despair, lust, loneliness, shame, and much more. Men are faced with a lot of dark shadows that our harming us and how productive we are.
One of my favorite things discussed people with optimistic attitudes and how they have better well-being and life satisfaction. They tend to have better mental health and more resilience from the challenges in their life that they face. Physical they have less inflammation, cardiovascular health, and less like to get sick. They explained how powerful the mind is how this can help us. Another important topic was loneliness and this is affecting men in negative ways. Both of the authors admitted to losing their joy and how they struggle to feel. Jefferson shared how he last felt alive was when he was younger about 22 years old with friends. Time and distance caused us to lose connections with our friends. Loneliness can greatly weaken our immune system and cause us to eventually die. They explained how men need true friendships and we need to invest it as much as we invest in working out. They stated how critical it is be vulnerabilities, have unplanned interactions, and proximity to each other. Jefferson shared how formed a group of guys who get together to hang out around the hot tub, firepit, and grill out, and have conversations. They typically answer some of the hard questions and he included some as an example. An example is name two to three years of great years and bad years. They shared how Jesus even had a band of brothers and would reach out to the tax collectors and religious people and was a friend to all.
I would recommend this life changing book to all men and it’s for men at any age. I really believe in when they both teamed up together to write this book it helped to make the message even clearer. This book is one that men need to read in today’s times since it’s very relevant. All 7 of the lies are ones that we have experienced or will again experience and we all struggle with issues that are weighing us down. I think I liked how each chapters included the lie and truth and it helped to break down what you would be covering in the chapter. This book is one to be reread and discuss with other men and our shadows will begin to see the light.
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson for my honest review.”
If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon.com:
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