If you haven’t previously cracked open a book by Donald Miller, you don’t realize that his writing style has the draw of a conversation with a close friend– one that happens late at night when your inhibitions have all retired for the evening and they leave you with unfiltered relation. Scary Close, subtitled “Dropping the Act and Finding True Intimacy”, holds that same style and discusses Don’s personal experience in finding a million wrong ways to initiate and foster relationships, friendships, and everything in between. In his words, you find that he’s not only willing to hold his brutally unfulfilling facade up to the light of day, but he’s eager to pass his wisdom on in an earnest manner.
Early in the book, you’re taken by Don’s writing style. He sits you down and dispenses the parcels of truth that have changed him for the better at an even pace with how frequently he owns up and lays out the transgressions of the man he used to be. It’s no secret that this combination is part of what makes Miller’s writing so potent. Like his previous work, Miller intertwines his faith with incredible humanity. He recounts many areas where he has found God acting in his life and leading a journey for his soul and yet the primary tone that is found in the book is not one of a sermon– but of a man becoming a better man and documenting each new thought that tears down his old walls.
“It’s a beautiful moment when somebody…realize(s) God created them so other people could enjoy them, not just endure them.”
Scary Close is a book that I will personally lend any friend interested in exposing themselves to Miller’s thoughts. It’s a book that I will read multiple times and one I’d like to pick apart in a more tedious study and it’s one that leaves a powerful impression even upon an initial glance. Going into my marriage, this is a book that I will draw upon for more wisdom and encouragement moving forward but it’s so much more than a guide to relationships. This is a book that guides my heart in the direction of continual improvement and one that its importance would struggle to be overstated. Reading Scary Close was like having an invasive and candidly honest conversation with an elder. In it, Miller tells you how he tried and failed and failed ten times over. He discuses his first memory of shame and he gives you this beautiful glimpse at his heart’s progression– even into the relationship that he holds most dear. Intimacy, as expected from the subtitle, drips from this book with incredible ease and shows the reader all of the glory that can be had from a life filled with meaning.
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