greenlights book review

Matthew McConaughey Wrote the Book on Matthew McConaughey

In his memoir, “Greenlights,” the star of “Dazed and Confused” and “Dallas Buyers Club” shares lessons from a life in which he turned out all right, all right, all right.

Matthew McConaughey knows there are people who think, “Gosh dang, McConaughey just eases right into everything.” He said he wrote “Greenlights” partly as a corrective. Credit... Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times

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By Dave Itzkoff

• Oct. 14, 2020

Would it surprise you to learn that more than 30 years ago, before he’d even sauntered across the screen in “Dazed and Confused,” Matthew McConaughey wrote a poem in which he vowed he’d someday become an author?

As one of its lopsided verses declared:

I think I’ll write a book. A word about my life. I wonder who would give a damn About the pleasures and the strife?

This was in 1989, when he didn’t know all the twists and turns that awaited him — the acting awards he’d win, the wife and children he’d have, the bracing dramas and banal rom-coms he’d make. But he was certain he would live a life worth chronicling.

Now that poem, rendered in its creator’s arcane handwriting, appears at the start of his autobiography, “Greenlights,” which Crown will publish on Tuesday.

The book offers a shotgun seat to all the l-i-v-i-n that McConaughey has accumulated, from his upbringing in a tumultuous Texas family to his ascent as the ruggedly serene star of “Magic Mike,” “True Detective” and “Dallas Buyers Club.”

McConaughey, who turns 51 on Nov. 4, enjoys spinning some of these personal yarns, not necessarily because they sound cool but because he believes they reveal certain universal and teachable truths.

To that end, “Greenlights” is filled with homespun wisdom that McConaughey has wrung from his toils, travels and that time he got arrested while playing bongos in the nude . He has fortified his remembrances with the coinages and maxims he dutifully recorded in decades’ worth of personal journals and which continue to spill naturally from his mouth.

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Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

New York Times Bestseller

IndieBound Bestseller

GREENLIGHTS

by Matthew McConaughey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 20, 2020

A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.

All right, all right, all right: The affable, laconic actor delivers a combination of memoir and self-help book.

“This is an approach book,” writes McConaughey, adding that it contains “philosophies that can be objectively understood, and if you choose, subjectively adopted, by either changing your reality, or changing how you see it. This is a playbook, based on adventures in my life.” Some of those philosophies come in the form of apothegms: “When you can design your own weather, blow in the breeze”; “Simplify, focus, conserve to liberate.” Others come in the form of sometimes rambling stories that never take the shortest route from point A to point B, as when he recounts a dream-spurred, challenging visit to the Malian musician Ali Farka Touré, who offered a significant lesson in how disagreement can be expressed politely and without rancor. Fans of McConaughey will enjoy his memories—which line up squarely with other accounts in Melissa Maerz’s recent oral history, Alright, Alright, Alright —of his debut in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused , to which he contributed not just that signature phrase, but also a kind of too-cool-for-school hipness that dissolves a bit upon realizing that he’s an older guy on the prowl for teenage girls. McConaughey’s prep to settle into the role of Wooderson involved inhabiting the mind of a dude who digs cars, rock ’n’ roll, and “chicks,” and he ran with it, reminding readers that the film originally had only three scripted scenes for his character. The lesson: “Do one thing well, then another. Once, then once more.” It’s clear that the author is a thoughtful man, even an intellectual of sorts, though without the earnestness of Ethan Hawke or James Franco. Though some of the sentiments are greeting card–ish, this book is entertaining and full of good lessons.

Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-593-13913-4

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020

BODY, MIND & SPIRIT | BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | SELF-HELP | ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS & CELEBRITY | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

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BOOK REVIEW

by Matthew McConaughey illustrated by Renée Kurilla

by Stephanie Johnson & Brandon Stanton illustrated by Henry Sene Yee ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2022

A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.

A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.

Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.

Pub Date: July 12, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2

Page Count: 192

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS & CELEBRITY | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

More by Brandon Stanton

by Brandon Stanton

by Brandon Stanton photographed by Brandon Stanton

by Brandon Stanton ; photographed by Brandon Stanton

LOVE, PAMELA

by Pamela Anderson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 31, 2023

A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.

The iconic model tells the story of her eventful life.

According to the acknowledgments, this memoir started as "a fifty-page poem and then grew into hundreds of pages of…more poetry." Readers will be glad that Anderson eventually turned to writing prose, since the well-told anecdotes and memorable character sketches are what make it a page-turner. The poetry (more accurately described as italicized notes-to-self with line breaks) remains strewn liberally through the pages, often summarizing the takeaway or the emotional impact of the events described: "I was / and still am / an exceptionally / easy target. / And, / I'm proud of that ." This way of expressing herself is part of who she is, formed partly by her passion for Anaïs Nin and other writers; she is a serious maven of literature and the arts. The narrative gets off to a good start with Anderson’s nostalgic memories of her childhood in coastal Vancouver, raised by very young, very wild, and not very competent parents. Here and throughout the book, the author displays a remarkable lack of anger. She has faced abuse and mistreatment of many kinds over the decades, but she touches on the most appalling passages lightly—though not so lightly you don't feel the torment of the media attention on the events leading up to her divorce from Tommy Lee. Her trip to the pages of Playboy , which involved an escape from a violent fiance and sneaking across the border, is one of many jaw-dropping stories. In one interesting passage, Julian Assange's mother counsels Anderson to desexualize her image in order to be taken more seriously as an activist. She decided that “it was too late to turn back now”—that sexy is an inalienable part of who she is. Throughout her account of this kooky, messed-up, enviable, and often thrilling life, her humility (her sons "are true miracles, considering the gene pool") never fails her.

Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023

ISBN: 9780063226562

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

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The Literary Edit

Greenlights Book Review

Towards the end of 2020, it seemed that almost everywhere I went someone was reading – or talking about – Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. There were people thumbing through it on the beach; dog-eared copies sat next to half-drunk cups of coffee in cafes dotted around Bondi, and nearly every time I was in Gertrude & Alice a hopeful shopper would ask if they had it in stock. And while I’m not usually one for celebrity memoirs – indeed I would struggle to tell you the last time I read one – I was intrigued as to what it was about Greenlights that seemed to be taking the reading world by storm. Knowing almost nothing about either Matthew McConaughey or his filmography (other than a long-standing hatred for the time he played an exaggerated version of himself in the Escape from New York episode of Sex and the City) I decided to make it the first book I read in 2021. And while I began the book with almost no expectations, I was soon swept away by McConaughey’s poignant and affecting ode to life.

Greenlights Book Review  

Part memoir, part guide to life, part collection of extracts from diaries the actor has been keeping for decades, Greenlights by Matthew McConoughey is an insightful and intimate exploration of one southern boy’s journey to stardom. Born to ‘twice divorced and thrice married parents’, I loved reading McConoughey’s honest account of being raised in a turbulent household that was peppered by violence, love and humanity, I loved reading about the time using mink-oil as acne cream went horribly wrong, about the time a stolen pizza that led to a concussion, and about an ill-fated lawsuit that his father never forgave him for.

Interwoven within the nostalgic narrative is McConoughey’s take on life; as a self-proclaimed optimistic, he sprinkles the text with the term ‘greenlights’ – after which the memoir is named – and explains them as being “an affirmation, [and a way of] setting yourself up for success. A greenlight can be as simple as putting your coffee in the coffee filter before you go to bed so tomorrow morning all you’ve got to do is push the button.”

From the year he spent abroad as a Rotary Exchange student in Australia, to the aftermath of his father’s death, to meeting his now wife, to turning his back on the movies that made him a household name, Greenlights is a beautifully written, evocative and unique narrative provides a candid look at what went on behind the scenes of one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors.

A brilliant book to start the new year with, and one that is as inspiring as it is entertaining, I’ll end my review of Greenlights with one of my favourite quotes, “Reach beyond your grasp. Have immortal finish lines and turn your red light green because a roof is a man-made thing.”

Greenlights Summary

From the Academy Award®–winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction

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.

Matthew McConaughey Author Bio

Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey is a married man, a father of three children, and a loyal son and brother. He considers himself a storyteller by occupation, believes it’s okay to have a beer on the way to the temple, feels better with a day’s sweat on him, and is an aspiring orchestral conductor.

In 2009, Matthew and his wife, Camila, founded the just keep livin Foundation, which helps at-risk high school students make healthier mind, body, and spirit choices. In 2019, McConaughey became a professor of practice at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as Minister of Culture/M.O.C. for the University of Texas and the City of Austin. McConaughey is also brand ambassador for Lincoln Motor Company, an owner of the Major League Soccer club Austin FC, and co-creator of his favorite bourbon on the planet, Wild Turkey Longbranch.

Further reading

If you loved Greenlights, you might also like one of the books that made Fashion Journal’s ‘ reading list that will motivate you to take charge of your life in 2021 ’.

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Book Review – Greenlights – Matthew McConaughey

Publisher’s Thoughts

From the Academy Award®–winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction.

Staff Thoughts

OK. I will admit that when I first heard that Matthew McConaughey had written a book, I immediately went to Amazon to buy the book. Not because he is a notable writer, but because I have a celebrity crush on the man. It also helped that a photo of the handsome author looking pensive was on the cover.

Once my voyeur need was met with the photo, I began wonder what in the heck “ Greenlights ” meant, and why did he choose this as the title for the book. Now that my curiosity was peaked to what the good-looking actor had to say, I clicked on the Amazon “buy” button.

I received the book in a couple of days and packed it in my suitcase to read on our badly needed vacation. Having the book in my carryon bag was “burning a hole in my bag” and I couldn’t wait to begin reading it. So, I began on our flight. I am surprised that this is an autobiography. Really, more than an autobiography, it is an insightful guide into a way of thinking and approaching this life we are all here to experience.

Each chapter begins with handwritten notes he saved throughout his life. Each note is then explained and given context to the deeper meaning it had on McConaughey’s journey through his childhood, acting career and outlook on life. The title of the book “Greenlights” is the basic premise surrounding the autobiography.

“The problems we face today eventually turn into blessings in the rearview mirror of life,” McConaughey writes. “In time, yesterday’s red light leads us to a green light. All destruction eventually leads to construction, all death eventually leads to birth, all pain eventually leads to pleasure. In this life or the next, what goes down will come up. It’s a matter of how we see the challenge in front of us and how we engage with it. Persist, pivot, or concede. It’s up to us, our choice every time.”

Right away, his words strike a chord. He is just a man. A man with a history filled with pain, roadblocks, and plenty of red lights, just like all of us. Being able to relate to and understand his journey through life was refreshing. I had just been through the toughest couple of years in my life and was struggling with how to process a lot of negativity, hurt and anger. I believe that his book is/was so timely with the year we had all experienced with the COVID pandemic. I really needed to hear the words, philosophy, and self-grace he was speaking. I do not believe he intended it to be a self-help book, but that is exactly how it spoke to me. I came back from that vacation feeling rested, content, and ready to take on life in a very centered, calm way.

Don’t start reading Greenlights until you have some time to spare because once you finish the first chapter you are going to have a hard time putting the book down. My superficial crush on an actor has morphed into a great respect for a fellow human and his approach to life with all its “red lights and green lights”.

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The Wisdom of Matthew McConaughey

A frank and friendly memoir from a working-class kid who hit the jackpot

A self-confessed diarist, Matthew McConaughey draws on a trove of handwritten notes, journals, poems and short stories he’s been collecting since boyhood in his new and utterly charming 500-page memoir Greenlights. McConaughey, obviously comfortable expressing himself in writing, has developed the rich, inner life that comes from honest personal exploration. The result is a frank and friendly memoir of a kid from a working-class background who hit the jackpot and rose to Hollywood fame (sometimes despite himself), keeping his eyes open and wits about him throughout the journey.

The focus of Greenlights is on the formation of McConaughey’s character and personal value set. Part One deals with his childhood with unsentimental clarity. Events such as lying to his father, building a treehouse or working summer jobs are pressed rigorously through the screen of what they taught him about how to live successfully. The key, McConaughey maintains, is awareness:

“Catching greenlights is about skill, intent, context, consideration, endurance, anticipation, resilience, speed and discipline. We can catch more greenlights by simply identifying where the red lights are in our life, and then change course to hit fewer of them. We can also earn greenlights, engineer and design for them. We can create more and schedule them in our future–a path of least resistance–through force of will, hard work, and the choices we make. We can be responsible for greenlights.”

Although the language is simple and the expressions occasionally cliché, McConaughey arranges them prettily–and to good effect. The development of a personal approach to life is immediately put to the test when the author applies it to the task of forging a career in Hollywood. McConaughey takes us through his journey, pointing out where he hit red lights and, more importantly, why. He then takes the extraordinary step of admitting responsibility for his own screw-ups and explaining what he learned from them. Such an unblinking public confessional is rare in print and takes real courage. The result is a narrative containing some fine and hard-won wisdom. It is, in fact, an object lesson in adulthood.

It’s fair to call McConaughey a natural talent–an instinctive actor who happened to be at the right place in the right time. He applied this same “red light/greenlight” philosophy to the task of preparing for his first role–that of the lecherous creep Wooderson in Richard Linklater’s 1993 Dazed and Confused . A surprise offer from the film’s producer, with whom he had unknowingly spent a night carousing, McConaughey describes the task of developing the character (or, as he puts it, “finding his guy”) by drawing on a memory from the richly-documented trove of his life experience.

“That image of my big brother, leaning against that wall, casually smoking that cigarette in his low-elbow, loose-wristed, lay-fingered way, through my romantic eleven-year-old little brother eyes, was the epitome of cool. He was literally ten feet tall. It left an engraved impression on my heart and mind…And eleven years later, Wooderson was born from that impression.”

McConaughey’s career, unlike the long plod of a Dustin Hoffman or Al Pacino, took off like a rocket. Finding himself suddenly the toast of Hollywood after his unlikely casting as the hero in the 1996 adaptation of John Grisham’s “A Time to Kill,” McConaughey experienced the psychological vertigo that comes with instant celebrity. His response was to retreat to a monastery in New Mexico for a period of prayer and reflection. Having ‘Gone Up,’ he then chose to ‘Go Within’, presumably, in search of more greenlights.

In preparation for writing this column, I read the book while working night shift at a community center on Vancouver Island in Canada. On my rounds, I mentioned it to my friend John, a janitor and local BC fixture for decades.

“Oh, yeah,” John said. “McConaughey. He was filming a movie here in BC and the cast and crew were all staying at some upscale hotel in downtown Vancouver. But McConaughey rented an Airstream trailer and anchored down at the campground by the Peace Arch. After a day of shooting, I guess it was burgers and beers back at Matt’s place with the campground locals. Folks said he was a real nice, down-to-earth guy.”

Hollywood is rife with stories of cut-throat ambition and badly-behaved celebs for whom we make endless excuses. Drug addiction? Sexual excesses? Financial impropriety? All acceptable so long as the guilty party adds value to the studio bottom line. But we all know, deep down, that it’s never really acceptable. Ultimately, those who make our art inform our culture through their work. And that work is a product of their values and character.

It’s refreshing to encounter a story about a good guy making it in a tough racket. It’s even more refreshing when that person turns out to be articulate, self-aware and eager to share what he learned along the way. Greenlights tells just such a story. By turns humorous and reflective, it is fast paced, engaging and well-written. Reading it was time well-spent and I recommend it without reservation.

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Jamie Mason

Jamie Mason is the author of The Book of Ashes, Certain Fury, and The North Atlantic Protocol . His most recent effort, THE BOOK OF JAMES , is a historical epic set in Viking-era Britain.

One thought on “ The Wisdom of Matthew McConaughey ”

Nicely Written! It’s an autobiographical snapshot of Matthew McConaughey’s early upbringing in Texas. His early career in Hollywood and ultimately where he is today. And it is told through stories and also journal entries from McConaughey from back in 1992. During the course of this book, the author Matthew McConaughey always brings up the term “Greenlight,” which is also the title of the book. Reference: https://rufbuk.com/summary-quotes-greenlights-book-by-matthew-mcconaughey/

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Book Review | Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

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Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey Goodreads Score 4.29 | 29,820 Ratings | 4,604 Reviews ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Alright, alright, alright, let’s talk Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I enjoy reading fiction and listening to nonfiction on audio. I especially love it when the author reads their book for the audio version. Matthew McConaughey does not disappoint with the reading of Greenlights. McConaughey’s storytelling will leave you mesmerized and fully immersed in what he is sharing.

Greenlights includes what McConaughey calls bumper stickers, prescriptions, and poems while telling his story. These are lessons he has learned throughout his life and has molded him into who he is today. The lessons and experiences he shares throughout the book will give you an interesting perspective on certain life situations.

My Favorite Tidbits and Quotes

Less impressed. More involved.

All destruction leads to construction.

I believe the truth is only offensive when we’re lying.

Persist, pivot, or concede. It’s up to us, our choice every time.

I haven’t made all A’s in the art of living. But I give a damn. And I’ll take an experienced C over an ignorant A any day .

I’d rather lose money havin fun than make money being bored.

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey is entertaining, engaging, fun, thoughtful, light-hearted while also having a profound message. I highly recommend it. If you choose to read it, definitely listen to the audiobook. 

Have you read Greenlights? How did you like it? Let’s chat in the comments below! As always, thank you so much for stopping by and reading. If you enjoyed this book review, please take a moment to like and share. I also hope you’ll consider subscribing  before you leave.

Until next time be happy, be kind, be you!

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Greenlights by Mathew McConaughey: A Book Review

Just when you think you know a guy, he goes and writes a memoir that completely blows your preconceptions out of the water.

I don’t do many book reviews on my blog. When I do, it’s because I was super impressed by the author’s storytelling ability or because I found the themes of the book so impactful. In Greenlights , Matthew McConaughey checks both boxes. Like many others, I’ve enjoyed the majority of his movies and bought into the version of McConaughey, the man, as a pot-smoking; naked, bongo-playing; airheaded; beach-loving intellectual-lightweight just breezing his way through one rom-com after another with the occasional “artsy film” thrown in to maintain his self-respect as an actor. It’s an image McConaughey admits he helped to create and perpetuate, and one he, rightly, does not apologize for. The fact of the matter, however, is that the guy is a modern-day Renaissance Man.

I’m aware that any first-person storytelling, fictional or nonfictional, needs to be read with a tad bit of skepticism regarding the veracity of the story the narrator tells. All people, when telling their own stories, tend to embellish their positive traits and achievements and understate their negative ones. In John Mayer’s song, “Why Georgia,” he asks himself, “Am I livin’ it right?” After reading Greenlights , I’m confident that if there ever was a person who could answer that question in the affirmative, it’s Matthew McConaughey. I absolutely love my life, but if I was ever given the magical opportunity to trade my life for anyone of my choosing, I wouldn’t do it, but I would be tempted to do so with McConaughey.

I and anyone else who bought into that simpleminded characterization of the man as an airheaded doofus could not have been further from knowing the truth of the man. Which is that Matthew McConaughey is a highly-educated, well-read, deep-thinking, soulful philosopher for the everyman. This much more accurate portrait of the man is made abundantly clear in Greenlights .

A traffic light is the extended metaphor that McConaughey uses throughout the book. It suggests that, at various junctures in each of our lives, we arrive at red, yellow, and green lights. At such intersections, it is vital that we understand the significance of the color of the traffic light we face and that we proceed accordingly in order to navigate our lives in a manner that allows us to experience our best life and to be our best selves. In order to do so, McConaughey reminds us that “Life is not a popularity contest. Be brave, take the hill but first, answer the question, ‘What is my hill?'”

Red lights come in many forms: rejections, job loss, divorce, the death of a loved one, etc. According to McConaughey, “We all step in shit from time to time. We hit roadblocks, we fuck up, we get fucked, we get sick, we don’t get what we want, we cross thousands of ‘could have done better’s and ‘wish that wouldn’t have happened’s’ in life. Stepping in shit is inevitable, so let’s either see it as good luck, or figure out how to do it less often.” When stopped cold by one of life’s red lights we must “[p]ersist, pivot, or concede. It’s up to us, our choice every time.”

Yellow lights are life’s “caution[s], a detour, a thoughtful pause, an interruption, a disagreement, indigestion, sickness, and pain.” They don’t stop us cold but remind us to slow down and proceed with more caution. The good news is that “Red and yellow lights eventually turn green in the rearview mirror.” 

Greenlights, as you would assume, are those moments in life that affirm that we are on the right path and that urge us to continue full steam ahead. They are about “skill: intent, context, consideration, endurance, anticipation, resilience, speed, and discipline. We can catch more greenlights by simply identifying where the red lights are in our life, and then change course to hit fewer of them.” McConaughey implies that there are most likely many more greenlights on the road of life we travel than red or yellow, but many of us are hesitant to accept that Fortune is — more often than not –actually smiling upon us. Perhaps my favorite quotation from the book reflects this idea. McConaughey writes, “I have a lot of proof that the world is conspiring to make me happy.” The same is true for the majority of us, but for some reason, too many of us doubt our good fortune or simply choose to focus harder on our bad.

I often surprise people when I tell them I don’t believe in happiness — at least not as a constant state of being. Like an emotion, happiness cannot be sustained; it can only be experienced in fleeting moments. Instead, I believe in joy. I try to identify as many of the the people, things, and experiences that bring me joy and then purposefully pursue them. So, I was thrilled when I read, “If happiness is what you’re after, then you are going to be let down frequently and be unhappy much of your time. Joy, though, is something else.” If I can string enough moments of joy together along the way of the road of life I travel, I figure it’ll come pretty close to a sustained state of happiness.

Technically, Matthew McConaughey’s book is a memoir, but it’s the best self-help book I’ve ever read. I’m going to finish my review with a final bit of advice from this book of Matthew: “So to any of us . . . whatever it is we look up to, whatever it is we look forward to, and whoever it is we’re chasin’. To that I say: Amen. To that I say: Alright, alright, alright. To that I say: Just keep livin’. “

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My primary passion and vocation is teaching literature and composition on both the high school and university level. My avocation is writing novels that explore contemporary themes/issues relevant to both young adult and adult readers. View more posts

One thought on “ Greenlights by Mathew McConaughey: A Book Review ”

Good review. Here in Texas, he is considered a national treasure and deservedly so. He is a long way freom Alright-Alright-Alright, but that was a good film, made in Austin. He is considering running for Governor of Texas, and probably has a good chance, since he is not a politician. I’ll read his book.

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Matthew McConaughey’s Memoir Doesn’t Dispel His Own Mythology—But Does Challenge It

In his recently released ‘Greenlights,’ the Texan actor spins tall tales that just so happen to be true.

Cat Cardenas is a writer focused on culture, entertainment, and the state’s Latino community.

Matthew McConaughey wants you to know that Greenlights isn’t your typical celebrity autobiography. In fact, he’s so serious about this, it’s the very first line in his book. “This isn’t your traditional memoir,” he writes. 

He’s not wrong. Written over the course of a 52-day self-imposed exile in the West Texas desert with 36 years’ worth of journals, the book is a collage of memories, photographs, poems, notes to self, and bumper stickers that make up the past 50 years of his life. It’s part biography, part playbook—a recollection of crucial moments in the actor’s life punctuated by life lessons and colorful aphorisms that can only be found in the South. “Truth’s like a jalapeño,” he writes at one point. “The closer to the root the hotter it gets.”

I was born and raised in Texas, same as McConaughey, and I went to the University of Texas at Austin, cheering on the Longhorns, too. His career and his presence have been inescapable for most of my life, so if you’d asked me prior to reading the book if I knew pretty much all there was to know about the actor, I’d have said yes. But reading Greenlights was a delightful surprise, full of stories that hadn’t been shared on late night talk shows or made headlines over the years. It’s a wild ride to be sure, but if you enjoy McConaughey and all of the eccentricities and contradictions that come with him, it’s one you won’t want to miss. 

For years, an entire mythos has surrounded McConaughey: he’s a Texas icon , an Academy Award winner, and a Minister of Culture who is no stranger to being the subject of parodies , memes , and SNL skits . McConaughey’s grin endeared viewers of more than a few blockbuster rom-coms, and his intensity kept them watching as he transitioned toward more dramatic roles in critically acclaimed films and TV shows, Dallas Buyers Club  and  True Detective  included.

Greenlights doesn’t necessarily set out to destroy the mythology of McConaughey or his “McConaissance,” but it does challenge these preconceptions. For starters, the memoir gets unexpectedly dark at several points. Even before the first chapter of the book begins, the actor confides that he was blackmailed into sex at fifteen and “molested by a man at eighteen,” though he says that he’s never felt like a victim. ( The Cut asked McConaughey about this never-before-discussed abuse in a recent interview , and he insisted that the experiences didn’t affect him long term, nor did he “need or pursue” help afterward.) He also dives into the complex but loving relationship that his parents, Jim and Kay McConaughey, shared with each other. Divorced twice and remarried to each other three times, the actor’s parents are introduced in an early scene getting into a bloody scrap over dinner that ultimately ended with them dropping to their knees and having sex on the kitchen floor. 

McConaughey also admits that fame made his relationship with his mother more difficult later in his life. She’s now quarantined with him and his family in Austin during the pandemic and they’ve long patched up their wounds, but after his initial taste of stardom, the actor writes that his mother seemed to be “a woman more enamored with [his] fame than [he] was.” 

None of this fits squarely with the easygoing image that McConaughey has become known for. But as his book makes clear, his upbringing shaped him as a storyteller. 

McConaughey’s original plan was to become a lawyer, but during his sophomore year of college at the University of Texas, he began to consider film school instead. The chance discovery of his fraternity brother’s copy of The Greatest Salesman in the World pushed him to commit to the change. It can feel like these pivotal moments are fated for McConaughey, from his first big break in Dazed and Confused (he ran into the film’s casting director and producer while getting drinks at a bar) to his breakout role in A Time to Kill.

But as he explains throughout the book, his entire life philosophy is about setting himself up for these “greenlights.” The rejections and setbacks that crop up are, to him, nudges in the right direction or clues that he needs to recalculate his course before setting sail again. By way of example, he tells one story about how, in the mid-1990s, he wanted to stop overthinking things and take some risks. So he signed on to the 1995 thriller Scorpion Spring , deciding he’d rely on instincts to prepare for his role. What he didn’t realize until minutes before shooting was that his character had a four-page monologue entirely in Spanish (McConaughey does not speak Spanish). As he tells it, the experience taught him a lesson but also left him embarrassed enough to feel like he didn’t have much to lose. He put himself forward for the lead role in A Time to Kill a few months later. If he wanted the part, he’d need to plant the seed in the director’s mind first. Then he’d actually need to deliver.

Years later, when he decided to leave the lucrative world of romantic comedies behind and reach for the kinds of roles that would challenge him, it wasn’t just a rebranding. It was a complete transformation, one that he pored over, talked to his wife and his agent about, one that he says cost him sleep and took complete commitment—and that paid off. In the book, he also admits that the “McConaissance,” as it’s come to be known, was a term he made up himself before telling it to a reporter in 2013. It’s just one more example of success coming his way in part because he willed it to. 

In between these nuggets of information and deep dives into the thought process behind his career moves, there are also the stories that make the book unpredictable. Greenlights is full of tall tales, ones you might not believe if someone other than McConaughey was telling them. They’re also where the audiobook really shines. Narrated by McConaughey himself, the audiobook might just be the performance of his lifetime. There’s just nothing quite like hearing the stories told in the particular lilt of his Texas twang (though he does briefly slip into an Australian accent when talking about his host family during his year as an exchange student). 

These tall tales also largely take place away from the spotlight. Over the course of his nearly thirty-year career, the Texan’s life has been marked by periods where he’s basked in success, spent time and money on what he describes as an “18-month hedonism tour” at the Chateau Marmont, and others where he’s left Hollywood behind for the comfort of a 28-foot airstream and campsites where people might not know his name. 

He decided to embark on life-changing journeys (one to Peru and one to Mali) after he had two separate vivid nightmares of him floating naked down the Amazon River. Both of those nightmares ended in wet dreams. (Yes, you read that right.) Later, he describes another wet dream in which he was 88 years old, surrounded by the 22 mothers of his 88 children.

It’s this final dream that he credits with helping him to stop looking for the perfect woman and wait for her to appear when she was ready. Enter Camila Alves. The final chapters of the book are marked by touching stories of his relationship with Alves, their budding family, and their eventual marriage in 2012. 

Ultimately the book is a love letter to life, a call to see the good in the bad. As McConaughey acknowledges, “We cannot fully appreciate the light without the shadows. We have to be thrown off balance to find our footing.”

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'Greenlights' Book Review: Matthew McConaughey Peels Back Layers of His Life

To Matthew McConaughey , life is about making the greenlights. Here's how the metaphor goes:

"We can catch more greenlights by simply identifying where the redlights are in our life and then change course to hit fewer of them."

These are among the many words of wisdom proferred in Greenlights , McConaughey's autobiography published by Crown in 2020, The Texas-born actor turned 50 in November.

Best known for his Oscar-winning turn in Dallas Buyers Club , McConaughey got his start playing Wooderson in Dazed and Confused  i n 1993. He reminisces about the famous one-liner,  " Alright, alright, alright , "  from the latter film:

"Now, 28 years later, those words follow me everywhere. People say them. People steal them. People wear them on their hats and t-shirts. People have them tattoed on their arms and inner thighs. And I love it. It's an honor. Because those three words were the very first words I said in the very first night of the job I had that I thought might be nothing but a hobby, but turned into a career."

Greenlights is not your typical celebrity tell-all. McConaughey spends as much time revealing Hollywood secrets as his does sharing travel stories from touring around the U.S. with his dog and adventure trips to South America and Africa.

He jumps from movie to movie, making significant stops at Dazed and Confused , A Time to Kill and Dallas Buyers Club . McConaughey focuses quite a bit on how he bolted from popular rom-com roles and shifted to dramas, ultimately leading to the Academy Award Best Actor award in 2014 for his powerful portrayal HIV sufferer Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club . (he slimmed down to 135 pounds for the role).

RELATED: 2020 Dazed and Confused Table Read Ft. McConaughey 

There are numerous references to marijuana, cocaine and Ecstasy in the book, and a revealing section about when McConaughey lived at Los Angeles' party-central hotel Chateau Marmont for 18 months in 2000-2001.

Busted in 1999 for marijuana possession and resisting arrest during a late-night raid after neighbors called police about noise blasting from his house near Austin, McConaughey explains it all started when the University of Texas, where he attended, defeated Nebraska in a football game that weekend, setting off a two-day bender:

"At 2:30 that morning I finally decided to wind down... It was time to smoke a bowl and listen to the beautiful melodic African beats of Henri Dikongué play through my home speakers. It was time to stand over my drum set and follow the rhythm of the blues before they got to Memphis, on my favorite Afro-Cuban drum born of ceremony and speaking in tongues, the congas... "It was time to lose my mind in it, take flights into the haze and slip into the dream. It was time for a jam session."

McConaughey  was so caught up in the moment, he didn't realize police had "barged into [his] house unannounced." They wrestled the actor, who was naked, to the floor and handcuffed him. He initially refused to put on clothes, saying several times, "This is proof of my innocence." (He donned a pair of pants in the police station.)

Ultimately, all charges were dismissed except for the sound violation: 

"Well, obviously I was lucky, walking out of jail only $50 poorer - this didn't happen to everyone who got hauled in on charges like resisting arrest and marijuana possession."

The 300-page hardcover concludes with  McConaughey  reflecting on 2020, the year of Covid-19 and racial strife in America. About  George Floyd 's death, he acknowledges:

"The unjust murder sparked a social justice revolution in America and around the world, and as racism reared its ugly head into the spotlight once again, we were reminded that All Lives couldn't matter until Black Lives matter more."

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Greenlights Hardcover – Oct. 20 2020

Purchase options and add-ons.

• Print length 304 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Crown
• Publication date Oct. 20 2020
• Dimensions 16.36 x 2.54 x 22.38 cm
• ISBN-10 0593139135
• ISBN-13 978-0593139134
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown (Oct. 20 2020)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593139135
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593139134
• Item weight ‏ : ‎ 522 g
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.36 x 2.54 x 22.38 cm
• #79 in Biographies of the Rich & Famous (Books)
• #121 in Job Hunting & Careers (Books)
• #153 in Women's Biographies (Books)

About the author

Matthew mcconaughey.

Academy Award–winning actor Matthew McConaughey is a married man, a father of three children, and a loyal son and brother. He considers himself a storyteller by occupation, believes it's okay to have a beer on the way to the temple, feels better with a day’s sweat on him, and is an aspiring orchestral conductor.

In 2009, Matthew and his wife, Camila, founded the just keep livin Foundation, which helps at-risk high school students make healthier mind, body, and spirit choices. In 2019, McConaughey became a professor of practice at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as Minister of Culture/M.O.C. for the University of Texas and the City of Austin. McConaughey is also brand ambassador for Lincoln Motor Company, an owner of the Major League Soccer club Austin FC, and co-creator of his favorite bourbon on the planet, Wild Turkey Longbranch.

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Greenlights Audio CD – CD, January 5, 2021

• Print length 6 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Random House Audio
• Publication date January 5, 2021
• Dimensions 5.07 x 1.12 x 5.89 inches
• ISBN-10 0593416953
• ISBN-13 978-0593416952
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House Audio; Unabridged edition (January 5, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Audio CD ‏ : ‎ 6 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593416953
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593416952
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.07 x 1.12 x 5.89 inches
• #76 in Books on CD
• #498 in Rich & Famous Biographies
• #1,169 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies

About the author

Matthew mcconaughey.

Academy Award–winning actor Matthew McConaughey is a married man, a father of three children, and a loyal son and brother. He considers himself a storyteller by occupation, believes it's okay to have a beer on the way to the temple, feels better with a day’s sweat on him, and is an aspiring orchestral conductor.

In 2009, Matthew and his wife, Camila, founded the just keep livin Foundation, which helps at-risk high school students make healthier mind, body, and spirit choices. In 2019, McConaughey became a professor of practice at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as Minister of Culture/M.O.C. for the University of Texas and the City of Austin. McConaughey is also brand ambassador for Lincoln Motor Company, an owner of the Major League Soccer club Austin FC, and co-creator of his favorite bourbon on the planet, Wild Turkey Longbranch.

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Customers say

Customers find the book well-written, with great stories. They also appreciate the insightful themes, humor, and tone. Readers describe the writing style as thoughtful, brilliant, and intense. They appreciate the actors as unapologetically themselves and authentic. Customers also say the content is real, honest, poignant, and inspiring.

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Customers find the book well-written, fun, and down to earth. They also say it's a different read and cool to read about Matthew's backstory.

"...Greenlights, written by Matthew McConaughy is one of the best autobiographies I have ever read and listened to. I ordered it first on Audible...." Read more

"...There’s a lot of great advice in this book for all ages. Great Book ." Read more

"Mathew McConaughey is one of my all time favorite actors! This book was so good ! 10 out of 10 would recommend!!!..." Read more

"...man you would like to read about, Greenlights will be an enjoyable and inspirational read ...." Read more

Customers find the book inspirational, with insights into life and great advice for all ages. They also say the author's beliefs, courage, and honesty reveal great advice.

"...I feel fame has not gone to his head. He is honest and brutal and captivating all at the same time. I have listened to it twice...." Read more

"...There’s a lot of great advice in this book for all ages. Great Book." Read more

"...highs and lowest lows his life story made me feel so inspired and full of hope . His adventures are superb, the way he writes is excellent!..." Read more

"...His stories and outlook on life is just amazing and listening to him tell them makes it even better...." Read more

Customers find the tone of the book humorous and likable. They also appreciate the cool poetry, good quotes, and reflections that are gems of truth. Readers also say the people in the book make it come alive.

" Witty and gritty, good read" Read more

"...There is a lot of humor in the various stories told in this short book like the one year he spent as an exchange student in Australia...." Read more

"...He used different accents for many of the people in the book and made it come alive . It was heartwarming and hilarious. Highly recommend it!" Read more

" Laugh and great life advice to think about." Read more

Customers find the writing style thoughtful, brilliant, humble, and lighthearted. They also appreciate the layout, photos, and art. Readers describe the memoir as personal, funny, colorful, hopeful, and laid-back. They say the book is soothing to listen to and touching.

"...Turns out it was. Every piece of this book is inspiring and touching . He opens up to the reader in way that feels so personal...." Read more

"...stories and life lessons shared in this memoir are personal, funny, colorful , hopeful, and filled with Divine Love...." Read more

"...Includes accounts in Matthew's own words. Very inspirational and thoughtful ...." Read more

"Thank You for this bookIt is made of beautiful textured paper with gorgeous print and interesting photos..." Read more

Customers find Matthew McConaughey unapologetically himself, extremely talented in acting, poetry writing, and insightful. They also say his choice of movie roles is interesting and he's a gifted actor. Readers describe the memoir as a mix of biography, self-help, inspiration, comedy, and love. They mention that the story is personal, funny, colorful, hopeful, and distinctive.

"...The stories and life lessons shared in this memoir are personal , funny, colorful, hopeful, and filled with Divine Love...." Read more

"...His choice of movie roles is interesting and he’s a gifted actor . This memoir is definitely different and has some good advice...." Read more

" Author is a good actor , but as a writer, he has a rather long way to go. Photos in book are small and hard to see with extremely poor quality...." Read more

"...He is a man of strong values and true character , he is down to earth and truly understands what is really important...." Read more

Customers find the book real, honest, and raw. They appreciate the sincerity, purity, and naturalness. Readers also say the book is original, serious, grounded, and radiates energy.

"Rarely I engage so strong with biographies. But Mathew has a very authentic and interesting way to tell his story...." Read more

"...while John Mellencamp strums his guitar through the speakers—familiar, real , and raw...." Read more

"...I took SO many notes, and it was so much fun and so real , with so many adventures and so many Truths!..." Read more

"...He's very grounded and far more spiritual and optimistic than I realized...." Read more

Customers find the pacing of the book fast, easy to read, and great. They also say the book is moving and inspiring.

"...It does not sound like he’s reading anything. He does a great job keeping the book fluid and you can easily follow the timeline he has laid out...." Read more

"...I really enjoyed this read; it was fast-moving , humble and tells a story of a man who slowly and eventually found himself...." Read more

"...It is not my typical read but it flowed like water and was enjoyable authentic and a book that I didn’t want to put down. Highly recommend" Read more

"...It picked up very fast and is very humorous along with being very insightful. Matthew tells of his story and it is so fascinating!..." Read more

Customers find the storyline repetitive, boring, and unfinished. They also mention that the book is not a typical memoir, and that the philosophy is repetitive.

"...Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it is not your typical autobiography ." Read more

"...It's anecdoted wayyyy too much with lots of clincher sentences (sigh) Think he's a fine guy with many fine points - I just didn't find it cohesive..." Read more

"I know it’s a memoir, but I found the book too self-absorbed and overbearing even for one...." Read more

"...This recording has too much swearing and the life lessons almost seem sophomoric , especially with the delivery. Very hollywood-centric..." Read more

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Greenlights Summary

1-Sentence-Summary: Greenlights is the autobiography of Matthew McConaughey, in which he takes us on a wild ride of his journey through a childhood of tough love, rising to fame and success in Hollywood, changing his career, and more, guided by the green lights he saw that led him forward at each step.

Favorite quote from the author:

Table of Contents

Video Summary

Greenlights review, audio summary, who would i recommend the greenlights summary to.

Matthew McConaughey is a strong believer in what he calls “greenlights.” In the movie business, a greenlight is when a studio allows you to go ahead with a project. It is a sign you can move forward and keep going. They are all around us. A greenlight can be a surprise gift or a chance to start over. If you don’t get your greenlight, you can even make your own.

McConaughey knows that not every plan will work out. It’s about how you deal with setbacks. In Greenlights , we get a sneak peek into the mind of Acadamy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey. It’s a fun memoir full of unconventional advice from one of Hollywood’s most witty, thoughtful, and unusual A-listers.

Let’s see how much we can discover from his life in just 3 lessons:

• McConaughey’s early life was full of tough love, popularity, loneliness, and career changes. 
• Success and fame began for Matthew at film school at UT Austin.
• His life and career took him all sorts of places, but eventually, he settled down to start a family and even found his stride in the film industry.

Let’s get learning!

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Lesson 1: In his early years, McConaughey experienced tough love, popularity, loneliness, and career changes.

Matthew grew up in Texas in a family with some pretty unorthodox ideas. His parents had a very combative relationship, but in the end, they did always love each other. They had two divorces and got married three times.

Matthew also had a few beatings of his own. One of these times was for just saying, “I can’t.” On another occasion he got in trouble for telling his brother he hated him. He did learn two important lessons from these incidents though— that you shouldn’t hate and you should never say you can’t. 

McConaughey was popular and did well with the ladies in high school. But after high school ended, things quickly changed. As a member of the Rotary Club, Matthew spent a year in Australia as an exchange student. Thinking he’d go to Sydney, he was shocked to end up in a tiny town called Warnervale. Matthew felt isolated and lonely like never before.

However, this experience taught him that he needed structure and challenge in his life. He became a vegetarian and practiced abstinence. His time alone forced him to look inside, figure out who he was, and what he wanted out of life.

After returning home, he pursued law but felt it wasn’t for him. A friend read his short stories and suggested he try film school. He was nervous to tell his dad, but when he did, he simply said, “Well… Don’t half-ass it.” This was exactly the greenlight he needed.

Lesson 2: Film school at UT Austin was the place where Matthew’s success and fame began taking off.

Matthew worked hard in film school but knew he’d need some luck as well. One night, at the Hyatt hotel bar, McConaughey met and drank with Don Phillips, who was in town to shoot a movie. They connected over golf and vodka, and by the time they got a cab hours later, Don offered Matthew a part in his film.

The movie was Dazed and Confused. Matthew played Wooderson, a college-aged partier. Originally, Wooderson would only have three scenes, but they liked Matthew’s look and interpretation of the character so much, he recorded for three weeks.

Dazed and Confused opened the door, but another film, A Time to Kill , made him famous. Director Joel Schumacher wanted Matthew for a smaller part, but when the lead actor dropped out, McConaughey seized his chance. He set a meeting to perform the movie’s climax courtroom scene for the studio heads.

Schumacher told him he would need to go off-script to impress the executives. That was a greenlight for Matthew, and he gave the performance everything he had. Two weeks later, they told him he had the part — and that launched him into stardom.

Lesson 3: McConaughey’s career and life have taken him all over the world, but he’s settled down with a family and found his place in the film industry.

Soon Matthew was the king of the romantic comedy and was living the high life with money, women, and motorcycles. But once again he wondered: What is all of this about? He says it was his existential challenge, and he believed he was up to the task of figuring it out. 

This is when he landed a role that helped him center himself again. The movie was Reign of Fire, and he would be playing an apocalyptic dragon slayer. Matthew dove into the character. He lived on a ranch in West Texas for two months to strengthen his body and mind. Some of the things he did include running barefoot in the desert and tackling cows to train. After the isolation and intense training, he was feeling pretty battered, but inside he felt strong. 

Every time he felt he needed more out of life, he looked for a greenlight to follow. One of these came in the form of a dream where he was on his porch with all of his children. It reminded him of how he had always longed to be a father, one of the only things he was certain about in life. He knew it was time. Soon after, he met the one, Camila.

At this time he made the decision to alter the course of his career drastically. He told his agent that he wouldn’t be doing any more romantic comedies. This was a big career risk, he knew it was what he needed to do. He was out of work for two years, but in this time he became a father.

Soon enough, Hollywood came calling again, and he landed new, non-romantic roles, like in Mud and Magic Mike . The so-called McConaissance arrived.

How can anybody not like Matthew McConaughey, especially after reading Greenlights ? He seems like a really great and down-to-earth guy and I think it would be really cool to meet him. This is a great book and I highly recommend it!

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The 20-year-old who wants to get inspired to do what it takes to see their career take off, the 47-year-old that’s curious to know what goes on in the mind of a creative, and anyone who is a fan of Matthew McConaughey.

Last Updated on June 15, 2023

Luke Rowley

With over 450 summaries that he contributed to Four Minute Books, first as a part-time writer, then as our full-time Managing Editor until late 2021, Luke is our second-most prolific writer. He's also a professional, licensed engineer, working in the solar industry. Next to his day job, he also runs Goal Engineering, a website dedicated to achieving your goals with a unique, 4-4-4 system. Luke is also a husband, father, 75 Hard finisher, and lover of the outdoors. He lives in Utah with his wife and 3 kids.

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