Book Review: Wild at Heart by John Eldredge

This book has been out for more than a decade but it has become popular again thanks to it being revised and an expanded issue being released. In Wild At Heart by John Eldredge, the concept is actually quite simple, men and women are different. He goes into depth about how being a good man doesn't just mean making dinner, working, going to church, and loving our families. He describes it as being a fierce warrior that steps out of his comfort zones into uncontrollable situations to fight for what he thinks is right. In Wild At Heart, Eldredge states that men have three deep desires the first being a battle to fight, that men want to struggle to achieve a goal that is against all their odds and he states that all men and boys are warriors. The second is an adventure to live for, that men want an adventure where they can put themselves on the line to prove their worth. The third and fine being a beauty to rescue, with women providing the inspiration for all of these heroics and adventuring with women ultimately being the reason why they are fighting the good fight.

In Wild At Heart he also talks about what women want and their three main desires. According to this book women have a feminine heart where he goes on to say the first thing that women desire is to be fought for, to be wanted by the male gender, the second thing that women want is to share in an adventure with someone, and the third and final desire is to have a beauty to unveil. While they sounds sexist put in this context they really aren't. This book isn't about sexist stereotypes as the book goes more in depth it goes into the struggles that both modern men and women face. It talks about roles and expectations that they both face which they shouldn't have to. As the book reaches the end it goes on about how they should be rediscovering the passion they have for each other as well as a passion for life.

This book may be a little difficult to look at objectively in today's view especially if you are brought up to think that all women and men are equal. There are some stereotypical boy-girl roles in this book that might make you cringe a little but it's the point of the book that isn't half bad after all. You have to really read further into the book to get a better understanding of this book and what it's trying to say to really appreciate the strong held and deep seeded difference between men and women. When John Eldredge goes on to explain why he used the phrase “Wild At Heart” he strikes a chord that many men probably feel as well. The whole concept is that so many religions and society expect all mean to be the nice guy and while there is nothing wrong with helping others, being polite, and all those things Christian men are being told to do, he makes a very convincing case that Jesus and God, in fact, did not intend for us to act this way.

Wild At Heart moves something within us and awakens the dream of being a warrior who fights for the ideals that are important to us and for those who need our help. So many times are we told to turn away when it comes to fighting for something we believe to be good and true. It really challenges our normal view of what it means to be a Christian woman or man. The revised and expanded edition of this book really is a lot richer than the original and the examples go more in depth and are a bit more modern than the original. If you read this book 10 years ago you should read it again today to see how you feel about it in this day and age. This is a good read that you should pick up to see how your views stand afterwards, if anything it does make for interesting conversation and will make you reflect on how you see the world and what is expected of you.