• Lessons from an American Stoic

  • How Emerson Can Change Your Life
  • By: Mark Matousek
  • Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
  • Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (15 ratings)

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Lessons from an American Stoic  By  cover art

Lessons from an American Stoic

By: Mark Matousek
Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
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Publisher's summary

"This is a beautiful book, full of ideas that could help restore America’s genius for freedom and promise.”

Thomas Moore, New York Times bestselling author of Care of the Soul

A lifelong Emerson lover, teacher, and spiritual seeker reveals how American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson’s twelve essential teachings hold the answer to living an authentic and fulfilling life, one that is in harmony with our souls.

In this wise, illuminating book, award-winning author Mark Matousek reveals how Emerson’s timeless wisdom can help us with the problems we’re facing today. America’s ‘original Stoic’ confronted many of the issues before us, from polarization to fake news, from crooked politicians and rampant materialism, to the scourge of racism.

Matousek explains that Emerson’s path of self-reliance can radically improve your quality of life. The mentor and friend of Henry David Thoreau, Emerson (aka the Oracle of Concord) was America’s first self-help author, and his nation’s conscience for half a century. Like the Stoics before him, he emphasized self-knowledge and mindfulness as paths to happiness; also, self-reliance, cooperation, non-conformity, originality, adaptability, and receptiveness.

As Americans are once again discovering the power of Stoicism, Matousek shows why Emerson’s vision is precisely the medicine we need today. The principles of Waldo’s philosophy are universal and require no spiritual faith to put into practice.

  • Each person creates her own reality
  • Obstacles are teachers in disguise
  • Your character is your destiny
  • Wonder and awe are the keys to the kingdom
  • Nonconformity is the greatest virtue
  • Nature is the doorway to God
  • Life without self-knowledge is not worth living

Emerson encourages us to throw-off conventions and platitudes, explore ourselves in depth, tell the truth about what we find there, and awaken to our greatest potential.

©2023 Mark Matousek (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Lessons from an American Stoic

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An Update of Timeless Thought

A good synthesis of Emersonian Transcendentalism and Stoic philosophy for 21st century readers - at times superficial / hopefully those interested will dig deeper into the sources themselves - on balance very enjoyable

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The presentation method resonated deeply with me.

The organized and straightforward approach to presenting the content so one can easily grasp the concepts.

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Quasi-stoic but...

a very good and interesting listen. I learned a lot about him and his contemporaries.

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Stoicism taught with political & religious bias

Stoicism does not instill political beliefs or encourage certain Leftist directions. Nor does it instill anti-religious views. Very bias writer

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Very little to do with Emerson or stoicism?

It’s an OK read, but the guy spends very little time on Emerson, bounces around to modern day, transgender ism, gay rights, and a plethora of other things that had nothing to do with Emerson? In my humble opinion, it reads much more like a book on Emerson and modern politics; Screaming of presentism, much more than Emerson, or any of the transcendentalist? If you wanna book reading, modern day, politics into Emerson and his writings, 200 years ago, and this book is definitely for you; but if you’re actually wanting some thing about stoicism or Emerson, I would stay away from this book, just to be honest as a student of transcendentalism :-)

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