• Wild at Heart

  • Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul
  • By: John Eldredge
  • Narrated by: John Eldredge
  • Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (6,200 ratings)

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Wild at Heart  By  cover art

Wild at Heart

By: John Eldredge
Narrated by: John Eldredge
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Publisher's summary

Every man was once a boy. And every little boy has dreams, big dreams: dreams of being the hero, of beating the bad guys, of doing daring feats and rescuing the damsel in distress. Every little girl has dreams, too: of being rescued by her prince and swept up into a great adventure, knowing that she is the beauty.

But what happens to those dreams when we grow up? Walk into most churches, have a look around, and ask yourself: What is a Christian man? Without listening to what is said, look at what you find there. Most Christian men are...bored.

In Wild at Heart, John Eldredge invites men to recover their masculine heart, defined in the image of a passionate God. And he invites women to discover the secret of a man's soul and to delight in the strength and wildness men were created to offer.

©2003 John Eldredge (P)2003 Oasis Audio LLC

Critic reviews

"The exceptional writing and ideational balance (and a sensitive interpretation by Kelly Dolan) make this a compelling effort to integrate the hero's gritty nature with the public good." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about Wild at Heart

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Healing & Understanding

Wild at Heart was dropped into my hand at a time of personal crisis. My life was upside down and inside out. Having walked with the Lord for 27 years I had answers to many of the questions that we, as men, ask oursevles. Yet some of the most important questions had gone unanswered or worse were never really asked.

John carefully and successfully opened up my heart as no other man has (excpet Jesus) and delivered Healing, Understanding and Passion.

His writing style is personal and easy. I highly recommend Wild at Heart.

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A must read for any christian man

Just when you think you're a man & that life is good...this read (or listen) brings you down to reality and let's you know you are far from being a "man of God." Perhaps if you're reading this, your marraige isn't the same as it was during that first year. Perhaps adding your own children into the mix has changed many of the reasons you married in the first place. Find out what truly makes you tick and empty that closet of all the cobwebs. Perhaps, rediscover your marriage and learn how to be a man of God! It may be one of many ways to prevent the generational pass down of poor fatherhood...or at least the realization of it.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wild at Heart

Fabulous!! Eldredge hits a Home Run with this crucial work. Any of us who have struggled with what society has tried to force us to do and not asked us or allowed us to be the man God intended us to be, needs to read this awesome work.
This book is timeless and will continute to help men return to the strong physical, spiritual and emotional leaders God created them to be.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Good enough to listen to again!

My husband and I both loved this book, we listened to it more than once. It helped us to understand the basis for the core differences between man and woman, and why we need each other. It helped me to understand the vulnerabilities my husband has, even though he tries hard to hide them.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

WOW

All I can say is WOW and I wish I had known some of these things before we had our 3 sons! This is a book for everyone! No nonsense and right in line with the scriptures. Read and be blessed!

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Bring your testosterone. Brains not welcome.

We did this book as part of our men's group this spring. It is provocative, to be sure, but it is way too simplistic. Eldredge starts with the premise that modern men are no longer the men God meant us to be - that men have been tamed, and are therefore bored. In his view, there is nothing worse than being a "nice guy". You are either a masculine, warrior-prince, or a whimpering, nice guy with dad-issues.

His rationale is that as boys, we all pretend to be knights, sheriffs and fighters, but that we forget this part of ourselves as we grow up and become bored, office-cubical workers. We forget this because our father (or father-figures) don't teach us to be wild any more. We aren't initiated into manhood by anyone. Fathers that should be teaching us to be hunters and fighters are instead themselves bored and check out. Our "wounds" at their hands have crippled our manhood.

I don't think I've ever heard such utter junk.

There's some good stuff in here, but it's rare. He talks about challenging yourself when you are in a bad place, and being willing to take more risks. That's great advice, but he taints it throughout with his "William Wallace" imagery.

Eldredge is either trying to reach a particular demographic, or his world-view is way too simple. God did not make everyone to be a warrior. There are plenty of mild-mannered heroes in the world. Consider Neil Armstrong. A soft-spoken civilian scientist who is one of a handful of men to venture to the moon. He took the ultimate risk, but was one of the humblest guys you could ever meet.

The best lessons I learned from my "nice guy" dad were not where he wanted to teach me how to hunt, fish or work on cars, but how much honesty, integrity and care of family mattered. The first set of lessons were not what impacted me for my daily life. I never really took to them. What stands out to this day is the latter. When people who used to work with him tell me how much they relied on him and his word in their business - that is what impacted me the most about how to emulate him. Eldredge's nice guy model would dismiss him as a tamed, bored man who seldom took risks. To me, he is the best a man can be.

Being a man is not defined by the battles you fight, but how you face your life. A nice guy is just as capable of facing challenges as the warrrior-prince. It is unfortunate that the author chooses to degrade with simplistic imagery rather than finding a better way to communicate an important message. Instead of relying on boyhood dreams as his model, he would have done well to be mindful of this verse from 1 Corinthians: "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways."

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Just too wild

Sorry folks, I am gonna be the black sheep. I didn't like it. I didn't like Brave Heart either. I had to quit half way through being tired of the phoney masculin note. I suffered particularly when the "Gladiator" was quoted. I do not believe this is true picture of a man. My opinion: too wild too superficial. Can a life frustration by solved by a purchase of a motorbike or engaging in adrenalin sports? Is that what this book is suggesting?

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A must read not only for men

Excellent book, really gave me insight not only into the masculine heart but my heart also. John has a way with words that speak not only in the mind but into the soul.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Not as Captivating as I'd hoped

In fairness, I started this book 3 months ago and haven't returned to it to finish it. After about two hours I was bothered by some of his takes on the bible. While we are both Christians, I have a different take on the fall of Adam and the weaknesses of other biblical characters. If I were reading the book, I could likely skim over these parts a little more easily than I can in an audiobook.

I think is basic premise is valid, men are boys at heart and we want to slay the dragon. We have a need for conflict. This likely explains the popularity of contact sports.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

THE book for men

Went through this book and materials for the book at a mens study at church this past winter. Was totally any eye opener..Now that I have it downloaded, I can listen to the book while driving down the road..And each time a little more is discovered...I cannot recomend this book highly enough..And will say to read the companion book "Captivating" for the women..Has shone me just how badly I have treated the women in my life....Is a shame though to find this out so late in life..Men I do hope you get into this book, and take it too heart, as soon as you can in life..The rewads are there just waiting for you..

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8 people found this helpful