#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Discover 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.NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN “McConaughey’s book invites us to grapple with the lessons of his life as he … 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.
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This was an honest and entertaining self-portrait. I now might know more about one of my favorite actors than I wanted to, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Mr. McConaughey has certainly led a crazy and active life. He also has an honest and unique way of writing. I hope to apply some of his Greenlight philosophy to my own life. I wish all the best to him and his family.
Now and then I read a memoir, I have to admit, more out of curiosity about the person writing it. While I’ve enjoyed McConaughey’s (Now I can actually spell his name) movies, I’m not what anyone might call a fan. What I enjoyed about this book is it’s unique approach to telling his life story. Right away he tells us this isn’t a traditional memoir. He peppers it with what he calls bumperstickers and stickies with philosophical comments about different aspects of life from his perspective. No doubt in my mind this guy is a deep thinker, and having done acting I understood where he is coming from on that when he embodies his movie characters. I liked that he isn’t afraid to share his innermost thoughts about the stages of his life and his experiences. He bled on the page with honesty. Not an easy thing to do. And for that alone I highly recommend this book.
I’m a big fan of Matthew McConaughey’s, and listening to him tell his life story made this memoir even more fun. Sure, some of the stories seemed a bit over the top, but hey, he is an actor after all. Good life lessons sprinkled throughout gave it more depth. Fun!
Scrapbook journey in Getting to know our favorite man, actor and so much more as he welcomed us = public fans to learn and be mindful on our own accord. God bless you, family and us all.. may our freedoms to express ourselves not be crushed by political whims to revert back to limited libraries or lost of knowledge of burning books of net and paper. Defend our blessings and stay aware of this crazy reality.
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
Wow what a story. Had attended an online podcast where he read a few pages of this book, and podcast was about the new Lincoln car, it’s features and charities.
For attending I did receive a free hardbound book of Green Lights. From the very beginning I went from scared to laughing out loud and repeated many times.
Scary when his mother grabbed a knife and was going after the father, til he squeezed ketchup on her til she gave up. I found the episodes of various scenes to be very honest, soul searched and down right entertaining.
At times I felt like I was on Saturday Night Live for a skit. Love the author narrating his own story, he emotions come through as he raises his voice in preaches and bumper sticker warning phrases.
The speed of his voice really entrapped my attention also as I come from the northeast and we talk wicked fast.
There is so much to this story and I love how he calls his mom at times and she doesn’t go along with what he’s telling her but then a few minutes later she calls and asks for a redo of their last conversation.
Love the relationships he has and learned so much about his life in general. Have watched him in a few movies and can’t wait to catch the others.
Best first book of the year for me, will be one of my top picks.
Some of the sentences are about 4 lines long, reminding me of ‘Alice’s restaurant’ song with all the lyrics and very long lines, LOL
So many connections, especially the movie in Newport, RI as I was there for court one day while they taped in the immediate area.
So honest and open.
Beautiful book design. Love all life lessons shared by Matthew. Both inspirational and down to earth.
I rate this book Alright, Alright Alright!!!
So I’ve always been a fan of Matthew’s and have seen a lot of his movies. I will admit though that I have always had a huge crush on his voice and that buttery Texas southern drawl of his. So naturally I had to do this book in audio format and boy was it awesome. I found his book to be raw, emotional, funny, interesting and downright sweet.
Love his “Bumper stickers and “Prescriptions”
A definite “Greenlight” to listen, Rather than read!
Matthew McConaughey tells us whatever it is you do put your fullest self into it as his father advised him when he switched his major from law to film .The author writes individuality needs resistance and times of stillness and nature are essential for self-discovery and reflection to discover where the next road leads .One can only commend the writer when after ten years of successful romantic comedies he tells his agent He will only act in dramas of substance .It take twenty months before his next film is made .and his courage gave us some of the best performances we have ever seen !Dallas Buyers Club and True Detective were riveting . and never would have existed if the actor had not changed his vision and remained true to himself .This serves as a crucial lesson to us all . To achieve purpose we need freedom to create and discipline to realize our potential and Matthew Mc Conaughey shows us how to turn our yellow and red lights to green for go ahead !
Matthew has a great voice. Interesting insights and fun tales.
Alright Alright Alright
First this is definitely and Audiobook kind of read. How else do you get Matthew’s intonations, chuckle and the timbre of his voice. My sister had listened and recommended I listen as well.
I have loved Matthew’s movies from the start and this book is a very entertaining and enlightening look into his mind and heart. I love his family bond and how he describes them and growing up. It is great walking thru the start of his movie career and everything in between.
And finding him at his true goal of being a father is just beautiful
This book is amusing, and amazing, it might not be for all readers but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
McConaughey is definitely a gifted storyteller! I enjoyed the audio book.
I don’t often read celebrity memoirs, but I gave this one a chance and I’m glad I did. Within a few chapters, I was hooked. Matthew McConaughey has lived an interesting life, which gives him an interesting perspective on life that is both jarring and refreshing. I plan to read Greenlights again sometime. Great book!
I enjoyed the story McConaughey told. I liked that he found green lights even in red and yellow lights. I liked that he talked about his life and how he handled different situations. Talked about his family and his kids. I enjoyed watching McConaughey grow and change. Follow his heart and his ideology.
I’m not a big memoir reader, but I liked this one a lot. I listened on audio. And it was so good! From a rough and dysfunctional upbringing to talent and luck, McConaughey takes on us on a delightful ride full of greenlights (and some red ones, too)!
I listened to this book with my two college age children on a long drive this summer and we all took away inspiration and useful nuggets of advice for life. It feels like you are watching the author’s life story on the big screen as you listen, as he is a talented story teller. We still talk about the wisdom gained from his story, well done Matthew!
I love his stories and anecdotes. I love the way he thinks and shares his mindfulness.
Often, when we think of celebrities, we see them as living privileged jaded lives. In Greenlights, Matthew McConaughey shows us how he started out in life at the bottom of the pile. Born into a highly dysfunctional family, he describes one scene he remembers when his mother and father got into a knock-down-drag-out fight in the kitchen, then wound up making love on the kitchen floor. They were divorced twice and married three times (the same two people). But Matthew learned what love looked like and what it didn’t. Of course, we know his somewhat Cinderella story and rise to fame and fortune, but what impressed me the most throughout this book was his incessant need and quest for spiritual enlightenment. He went to extremes to follow dreams (literal and perceived). The things he realized along the way are shared in a raw and honest way. Tidbits of wisdom mixed with common sense make this book more than a memoir or biography. It’s hard to define it. Is it a self-help book? Maybe. Is it a man’s journey from poverty to fortune? For Sure. Is it a roadmap for finding all the greenlights? I’d say so. But most of all, I’d say this is a book of raw and uninhibited inspiring honesty. That’s what I felt the most. Here’s one of my favorite passages found on page 259: “An honest man’s pillow is his peace of mind, and when we lie down on ours at night, no matter who’s in our bed, we all sleep alone.” Truth! And this one: “We all have scars, we’ll get more. So rather than struggle against time and waste it, let’s dance with time and redeem it.”
This book is filled with stories, memories, confessions, life lessons, and spiritual wisdom. It gives lots of food for thought. I enjoyed it.
I listened to the audio of this book, and it’s definitely worth a listen for McConaughey’s exuberant one-man show. He could probably bring this to off-Broadway, or, I suppose being Matthew McConaughey, Broadway. (If it ever reopens!) It’s not often you get to hear an Oscar winner narrate their own book, so I highly recommend it. Not to mention he has a pleasant, appealing voice. I will confess that because of this, I often drifted off in the middle of one of his tales. The beginning promised lots of incredibly offbeat and sometimes appalling stories (he was molested while knocked out with drugs in the back of somebody’s van?) but whether he ever got around to them, I don’t know because by that time I’d fallen asleep!
Also, while Matthew grew up in what sounds like, frankly, a pretty horrific family – be prepared that he does not think so in the slightest. No matter what horror he mentions he was put through as a child – including his parents beating each other bloody – he relates it as if it’s a charming, nostalgic tale. It’s a tad weird, to be honest, but we all know he’s a tad weird.
This isn’t your typical Hollywood memoir by any means, but it does have some great insight, some entertaining stories involving his movies and life, and is definitely worth a listen. But I confess sometimes it veered into self-indulgence for my tastes.
I enjoyed listening to Matthew McConaughey read his memoir. It was funny, honest and eye opening. I learned so much about his upbringing, experiences and work wide travel. The pictures and notes included in the book just added to it even more.
Who doesn’t love a little Matthew McConaghey?!