When was life is messy published?

Books are leather-bound, signed and numbered, with printed endpapers, gold stamping, a slipcase, and a ribbon marker.

In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against a

9781635822007

Quantity must be 1 or more

Adding product to your cart

When was life is messy published?

Life is messy.
It isn't a color within the lines exercise.
It's a wild and outrageous invitation
full of uncertain outcomes.
The mess of life is both inevitable and unexpected.
It is filled with delightful mysteries
and frustrating predicaments.
In our disposable culture,
we throw broken things away.
So, what will we do with broken people,
broken relationships, broken institutions, broken families,
and of course, our very own broken selves?
We are all broken and wounded.
This book is about putting our lives back together,
and allowing ourselves to be put back together,
when life doesn't turn out as we expected it to.
Based on his own heart-wrenching personal journals,
Matthew Kelly shares how the worst three years of his life
affected him, by exploring this question:
Can someone who has been broken be healed
and become more beautiful and more lovable
than ever before?
The answer will fill you with hope.
There has never been a more urgent need
for us to attend to what is happening within us.
This is quite simply
the right book at the right time.

If you would like to share a preview of the book with others, the first 20 pages can be viewed here.

Use left/right arrows to navigate the slideshow or swipe left/right if using a mobile device

Over the holidays the book, LIFE IS MESSY, was given out in many dioceses in the country. I received my copy from a Wisconsin church near Milwaukee while visiting family at Christmas. Upon my return to St. Elizabeth Seton, I found that it was being given out here, too. In case the book is still sitting on a shelf, here is a little background that might spark your interest in reading it.

Kelly was born in Sydney, Australia, and has been writing since 1993. As a motivational speaker he has traveled to more than 50 countries and his books have been published in 25 languages. Born into a Catholic family of eight boys, religion just did not take for him. Finding a spiritual path came later.

Kelly has provided the reader with insights into life choices based on living the worst three years of his life. A reader can learn a lot from his struggles. It is not preachy. He tells us that “MESS” is part of being human.

Writing has been a lifesaver for Kelly. Up to the time of the worst three years, life had been excellent, each year getting better than the last. Then everything broke loose. He says “In that third year I saw the worst of many people. In just twelve short months, I was deceived and betrayed by so many people, in so many ways, that I became at times stunned, enraged, disoriented, and depressed.” He became lost. It was a crisis. Or, maybe, it was an opportunity.

This small book does not follow a traditional structure. Being small, one is tempted to just read it right through, but I think you miss a lot if you do. Each section poses questions and makes you think about your own life. He touches on such topics as the desensitizing of the existence of evil, avoiding feelings, neglecting kindness, wisdom of simplicity, forgiveness, social media, obligations to self and so much more. Shame, he states, allows us to stay stuck. It is okay to feel stuck, but we cannot remain there. We were created to grow. “People will travel great distances to see the wonders of this world, while all the time, the marvel of self goes unnoticed, unappreciated, unexplored and underdeveloped.”

In the last portion of the book, the author talks about the development and refinement of CHARACTER. Some find it hard to define character in our modern world. Kelly connects character with virtue. We know it when we see it. “Character is not generic, boring, rule-abiding, cookie-cutter thing. It is personal, dynamic; it manifests differently and beautifully in every person.”

Brokenness is something we all experience in life. We throw away many broken things, but certainly not broken people. Recovery from brokenness can make us more empathetic to help others and to help ourselves when brokenness visits again.

There is much food for thought in this small volume. Take a taste, savor the thoughts, feel your mind and heart expand and come finally to a new understanding of the human condition. Life is messy!

The Life Is Messy Journal can help you see that the answer to this question is "Yes!" As you will soon discover, arriving at this conviction will be no easy feat. The journal in your hands will be your own messy and imperfect grappling with this question. If at any point you find yourself lost, confused, or disoriented, return to this question. It is the North Star we are exploring. Whatever topic we are discussing in the pages ahead, though they are vast and varied, we will never be far from this question.

Why did I get a free copy of Life is Messy?

2. Why did I receive the book, Life Is Messy? People often ask how they received a free copy of one of Matthew Kelly's books in the mail or where their name was obtained from. Each year Matthew mails free books to thousands of people across the country – just because he loves sharing the message with new people.

What is life is messy based on?

Based on his own heart-wrenching personal journals, Matthew Kelly shares how the worst three years of his life affected him, by exploring this question: Can someone who has been broken be healed and become more beautiful and more lovable than ever before? The answer will fill you with hope.