To Own a Dragon: Reflections on Growing Up Without a Father by Donald Miller, John Macmurray Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of To Own a Dragon: Reflections on Growing Up Without a Father
Book Review: Take the Dragon back
Summary: 3 Stars
If you've done any kind of reading on the topic of fatherlessness or manhood, this book will be a snoozer. In my opinion it brings very little new to the table. The book is decently written including humor and a few interesting points. Many times I felt like the main thrust of the book was cut off by the authors need to tell another self deprecating story with very little depth. While I'm sure this was cathartic for the author, as a reader I felt myself skipping over paragraphs intensely looking for the "meat" of the book.
It appears from the reviews here that this book did have an intended audience who clearly found this it ground breaking and thought provoking. I really found it neither. If you have done quite a bit of reading such as Brennan Manning or John Eldridge, I wouldn't even bother with this book. If you are newer to the topics of rediscovering manhood, this will be a light-hearted introduction.
Book Review: To Own A Dragon
Summary: 4 Stars
As a previous reviewer recommended, Blue Like Jazz is a better introduction to Don Miller than this book, To Own A Dragon. Nevertheless, this book is written in the same style as Blue Like Jazz - personal, written to normal human beings from a normal human being, realistic, refreshing.
I'm a Christian girl with a father, and I enjoyed this book, though Blue Like Jazz is still definitely my favorite.
Book Review: To Own a Dragon
Summary: 5 Stars
Bittersweet story of a talented and passionate young man growing up without an earthly father in his life, Donald Miller tells the reader that our heavenly Father is the ultimate loving daddy. Cry and laugh as you read this heart-touching book.Book Review: To Own a Dragon: Reflections on growing up without a father
Summary: 5 Stars
While written mostly for men, this is a great book for anyone who has grown up with an absent or detached father. The insights it presents will help any young man to grow up with more self-awareness and understanding, able to make better choices for himself.Book Review: Turning our hearts to the Father
Summary: 5 Stars
The best authors take our half-formed thoughts on an issue and animate them with their words, and here Donald Miller does it again. The strength of TOaD flows from Don's ability to vulnerably and creatively display the wrestling of his own life through the issues of coming of age in a dad-depleted home/society(see the stats in the back of the book). He doesn't leave us hanging in the angst of growing up without a father, however, but instead delivers tremendous hope to young men (young being relative) in the context of his experiential Father-Son relationship with God. His reflections do not appear fluffy, but solidly won, and invite us therefore into our own intimate communion with God our perfect Father, an analogy God can live up to when given the chance.
I agree with Jeff Foxworthy: this book spoke to a place deep inside me, and helped me wrestle with how I relate to God as my Dad. This book is not therapy nor is it an in-depth theological study of the "Father" aspects of God. It is one man's testimony of his journey from arrogant victim to wounded healer. I would highly recommend this important book, then, not only to young men but to men and women of all ages desiring maturity in Life and communion with God.