Becoming Better Men: Stories from Seventeen Years of Letters
Ebook
By writing letters to one another, three men learned how to share ever-deeper feelings. They stretched one another to find more honest ways into intimate conversations with their parents, sons and daughters, wives, and friends. Through their letters they developed an accountability, challenging each other to acknowledge "stuck" places and move past them. Their letters are filled with humor, dreams, stories of wounds from their upbringing, and poignant heart-warming stories. Readers of this book will discover ways to enrich their own relationships.
“To me, this is a remarkable story of the role of faith in sustaining the richness of life. As each of the three men in the ‘Neighborhood’ navigate relationships, parenthood, activism, and work, they find discernment and sharpen the values that drive them through these epistolary exchanges. Filled with humor, insights, and provocative questions interlaced in the recordings of ordinary life experiences, we come away enriched by the emotional and cognitive intimacies shared with us by these lifelong friends in their journey into wakefulness.”
—Zayn Kassam, professor emeritus of religious studies, Pomona College
“Amid the changing world of the 1970s, three young men seeking answers to challenging questions connected, and it changed their lives. By the mid-1980s they had scattered, and their struggles deepened by the pressures of marriage, family, and work. Soon they began writing letters, filling them with dreams and heartbreaks old and new. Men and all others might discover a deepened path forward while immersing themselves in the intimate stories of these three individuals who were determined to journey openly while learning from one another.”
—Eleanor Scott Meyers, author of Stories from an Unintentional Preacher: A Memoir
“It takes courage for men to become vulnerable to each other. We have been taught to hold each other at a distance, to play out of our strengths and hide our weaknesses. To commit oneself to set aside this enculturation and intentionally open our deepest places to other men is to challenge the surrounding culture. I have known the power of such moves in my life and commend the conversations in this book as groundbreaking for men.”
—Paul Kittlaus, author of Organizing Justice Church
“A refreshing and meaningful take on male friendships! Becoming Better Men gives the reader front row seats to the formation and deepening of wonderful relationships between men. Excerpts from letters between these three offer a tasty recipe of sharing, vulnerability, and support. They are a worthy lens through which any man (or woman) could examine the relationships in their own lives. This book truly illustrates the value of cultivating a vibrant and complex Neighborhood of men.”
—Joshua Mann, engineering manager, Hewlett Packard
- Title: Becoming Better Men: Stories from Seventeen Years of Letters
- Authors: David Mann, Michael Bausch, Jerry Irish, Tom Hunter
- Publisher: Resource Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2024
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9798385219988, 9798385219964, 9798385219971
- Resource ID: LLS:9798385219988
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-11-01T00:43:02Z
After graduating from UC Berkeley in engineering, David Mann earned an MDiv from Union Theological Seminary and became active in civil rights work as an ordained UCC minister. He has focused on community organizing with a faith-based national network and taught courses on religion, ethics, and organizing. Now a potter, Mann lives in California with his wife and has two children and four grandchildren.
Michael Bausch earned degrees from Carroll University, Pacific School of Religion, and United Theological Seminary. He served UCC churches in multiple states and published books on worship, music, technology, and media arts. Having taught at seminaries and universities, Bausch currently provides ministerial support and music therapy. He resides in Wisconsin with his wife and has two children and two grandchildren.
A graduate of Amherst College, Tom Hunter earned an MDiv from Union Theological Seminary and worked as a UCC youth minister, pastor, and musician and hosted a popular talk show on KGO Radio in San Francisco. Tom traveled internationally singing and giving keynote addresses at educational and religious events. He and his wife raised two children and have three grandchildren in Washington State.