A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life

273 Pages·2009·1.34 MB·English

by  Donald Miller

Praise for
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
In his funny, self deprecating style, Donald Miller is sometimes pain-
fully honest about his life “unedited,” his weaknesses and his faith . . .
and that’s all I ever choose to read.
— Tony Hale,
Actor, Chuck and Arrested
Development
I love Donald Miller. He is a man after my own heart.
— Anne Lamott,
New York Times
best-selling author of
Traveling Mercies, Grace
(Eventually), and Bird by Bird
If someone tells you they’ve read this book and they “enjoyed it” or
they “liked it” or they think it’s a “good book” then maybe they didn’t
read it—it’s well written and funny and interesting and all that, but
it’s also disturbing. Really, really disturbing. Don is into provocative
territory here, wrestling with The Story and the role each our stories
play in it . . . this is very convicting, powerful, unsettling writing. I felt
like this book read me more than I read it.
— Rob Bell,
Author of Velvet Elvis
I’ve never been in Donald Miller’s living room, but this book makes
me feel that I have. The stories compel, the humor works, and Don’s
wisdom stealths its way on to the pages. I already want to re-read it.
— Max Lucado,
New York Times Best-Selling
Author of 3:16 and Fearless
Sly, soulful, and deeply affecting, Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in
a Thousand Years is an indispensable road map and travel companion
for readers seeking not only to experience better stories but to live
them as well.
— Allan Heinberg,
Executive Producer,
Grey’s Anatomy
Only Donald Miller can mill the glorious wreckage of the human
experience for the hue of jazz and the hope that we can live out a
story worth sharing. His premise will haunt you until you set out to
discover if memorable lives, like unforgettable books, often require
several drafts and a loving editor.
— Steve Duin,
The Oregonian
In the first few chapters of Don’s new book, Don got me thinking
about Don and his interesting life. Then for several chapters, he got
me thinking about my own life. And then for the rest of the book, I
couldn’t help but think about God and other people and the kind of
future we’re creating together. That sounds like solid evidence that
this uniquely talented and sagely writer/thinker/storyteller has given
us another wonderful and life-enriching reading experience.
— Brian McLaren,
Author, Speaker, Activist,
brianmclaren.net
There are some writers who simply don’t have it in them to craft an
inelegant sentence. Donald Miller is one of them. A Million Miles in
a Thousand Years proves in story form how stories define us even
more than our genes do. Read this book for an experience of sheer
beauty, or for help in living a well-storied life.
— Leonard Sweet,
Drew Theological School,
George Fox University,
www.sermons.com
Donald Miller writes, “People love to have lived a great story, but few
people like the work it takes to actually live that story.” He unpacks what
that work looks like and how the story ends! I have great admiration
for this storyteller and recommend his latest book with enthusiasm.
— Denny Rydberg,
President, Young Life
This book is an invitation. We’re taken on a journey—over moun-
tains and water and across America on a bicycle. We find love and
pain along the way, we laugh and we mourn. Through it all, we are
invited to live a better story.
— Jamie Tworkowski,
Founder, To Write Love on
Her Arms, www.twloha.com
Donald Miller looks honestly at his own life—and as he examines his
own story, he has the courage to take risks and do things that matter.
Don is a gifted writer not just because of his winsome and engaging
words—but because he encourages us to examine our own lives. From
a cross-country bike ride to a living room editing session, Don’s
scenes invite us to explore our own stories, wherever they may be
taking place. I hope you’ll take Don up on his challenge and make
your own story one worth telling.
— Gary Haugen,
President and CEO,
International Justice Mission;
author, Just Courage and
Good News About Injustice
As all great writers do, Don’s new book pulls you into his life story
without you knowing exactly what is happening to you. You start read-
ing a story about Don and then wake up at the steering wheel saying,
What the hell? This story is about me. A Million Miles in a Thousand
Years is raw, funny, painful, and honest just like life really is.
— Rick McKinley,
Lead Pastor, Imago Dei
Community and Author,
This Beautiful Mess and
The Advent Conspiracy
With great honesty and insight, Don Miller issues a simple and pro-
found challenge: live a better story. In A Million Miles in a Thousand
Years Don opens up his life, struggles, triumphs, and insecurities and
shows the reader how to do exactly that. The world is full of great
challenges, terrible tragedies, and overwhelming joys—there is simply
too much going on to be a part of a boring story. For anyone who
knows that life should more than what we see on TV commercials and
billboards, this is a book for you.
— Jim Wallis,
President of Sojourners and
Author of the New York Times
bestseller The Great
Awakening
Readers who loved Blue Like Jazz will find here a somewhat more
mature Miller, still funny . . . but more concerned about making a
difference in the world than in merely commenting on it.
— Publishers Weekly
A MiLLion MiLeS in A

THo uS AnD
Y eA R S
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A MiLLio n MiLeS i n A
THo uS AnD
Y eA R S
What I Learned WhILe edItIng My LIfe
D o nA L D
M iL LeR
© 2009 by Donald Miller
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief
quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a
registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational,
business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please
e-mail [email protected].
In some instances, names, dates, locations, and other details have been
purposefully changed to protect the identities and privacy of those
discussed in this book.
Illustrations by Barak Hardley, 50yearplan.com. Used with permission.
ISBN 978-1-4002-0266-9 (IE)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Miller, Donald, 1971–
A million miles in a thousand years : what I learned while editing my
life / Donald Miller.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7852-1306-2
1. Miller, Donald, 1971– 2. Christian biography—United States.
3. Autobiography—Authorship. I. Title.
BR1725.M4465A3 2009
277.3'083092—dc22
[B] 2009023464
Printed in the United States of America
10 11 12 13 14 WC 8 7 6 5 4
Contents
Author’s Note xiii
Part one: exposition 1
1. random Scenes 3
2. a Million Miles in a thousand years 9
3. they fell Like feathers 16
4. My real Life Was Boring 21
5. flesh and Soul Better 28
6. My Uncle’s funeral and a Wedding 30
7. going to See the Professor 39
8. the elements of a Meaningful Life 43
9. how Jason Saved his family 49
Part Two: A Character 55
10. Writing the World 57
11. Imperfect Is Perfect 61
12. you’ll Be different at the end 68
13. a Character Is What he does 71
14. Saving the Cat 80
15. Listen to your Writer 84
16. Something on the Page 92