IYFTM10: Dedication, Note from Jon, Foreword, Intro
Before we start to revisit all 44 stories, let's take a look at how the book begins.
My book If You Feel Too Much was released on May 26, 2015. I was in New York City that day, for a bunch of press before the book tour’s opening night, which took place at Barnes & Noble in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, on East 86th Street to be exact. (The Internet tells me this store closed in 2020, with a replacement arriving a few blocks away in 2022.) New York was the first of 11 cities in 14 days, with my sister Emily joining me for Night Two in Los Angeles. (Barnes & Noble at The Grove.) Em was out for the first week and then my best friend Mark arrived in Houston for the home stretch. A day or two later, Mark and I were eating lunch in Nashville—at Chili’s—when I got the call that IYFTM had landed on The New York Times Best Sellers List.
In the weeks ahead, right here on Substack, I will be sharing some thoughts as we revisit If You Feel Too Much. If you would like to read along, the book is available in both hardcover and e-book, including a few signed copies in my online store. There is also an audio version, which I had the privilege of recording at Penguin’s studio in New York.
Before we get to the 44 stories that make up IYFTM, I want to start with how the book begins. Today’s post will cover all of the following: Dedication, Note from Jon Foreman, Foreword by Donald Miller, and the Introduction. As I read through each of these, I’ll pause to write a short reflection. Future posts will likely include some audio as well.
We’re now a decade down the road. Thank You for taking this journey with me. Thanks for caring. If you feel too much, there’s still a place for you here.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my parents, Joe and Janet, and to my sisters, Jessica and Emily.
And to David Kuo, who died but also lived.
That last part has always stood out to me.
I’m thankful for my family. I’m thankful they’re alive and thankful that we love each other. I miss my buddy David. He comes to mind often. I actually wrote about David here after seeing U2 at Sphere a couple years ago.
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Note from Jon Foreman
What can I say? I felt honored the first time I read Jon’s note for the book, and honored reading it again just now. Jon is brilliant, thoughtful, intentional, humble, and kind. He’s also funny and he loves to laugh. We’ve been friends for something close to 25 years now. This has been more than a gift.
A few months back, my girlfriend and I took her youngest kiddo to their first concert. Jon Foreman at The Social in Orlando. Before the show, we went to dinner with Jon and the rest of the tour crew. The night was a 20 out of 10. As for the cherry on top? After the show, we met a guy named Charlie. It turns out Charlie is the president of the Orlando Magic, the team Christina and I have loved since 1989.
A couple weeks later, on the day that I officially moved (back) to Orlando, we were in good seats when the Magic played the Clippers.
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Author’s Note
For those who have the expanded edition of IYFTM, which came out in 2016—one year after the initial release—an author’s note shows up next. I’m gonna skip (reviewing) this part, as I’d rather keep the focus on everything that just hit 10.
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Foreword by Donald Miller
Don’s book Blue Like Jazz is a turning point in my story. I was just starting to write and BLJ made me want to write in a way that was both beautiful and honest. It also made me want to share stories from my own life, just as Don had done. Hero is a word I used to describe him back then, and over time we became friends. The writing that ended up becoming the foreword to IYFTM, these words are actually borrowed from Don’s book Scary Close.
Don and I have not connected in a while but I will always cherish what he wrote. And I continue to be grateful that we were able to use it as the foreword to my book.
It’s no small thing to find a friend, even for a season. And no small thing to feel seen or known by another person, especially someone we’ve looked up to or admired, even for a moment. What Don wrote feels now like a photograph, one that still makes me smile and remains a special thing to get to share.
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Introduction
Some of this feels like a lifetime ago. I really wanted to prove myself. Reading this, I feel like I was trying to figure out how to be a public person. Or impressive or successful or someone who appeared to be successful.
As a sidenote, lately I’ve been listening to Rob Bell’s new audiobook, which talks a lot about this sort of thing. Rob is able to look back with a ton of grace for that ambitious earlier version of himself, while smiling at how much his life has changed, and the ways that he’s slowed down. I’ve been connecting with this deeply.
Back to the IYFTM intro…
I relate to the part about struggling to write a book, because I’ve been struggling to write a second book for the last 10 years. I still want to make it happen. Who knows—maybe all of this can lead to that.
The next part makes me smile:
It turned out there were clues back at the beginning, in the days before the story that would change so many things. There were words starting to emerge a decade ago, when I was just a surfer selling t-shirts and boardshorts.
What you hold in your hands is a collection of sprints. Ten years of sprints, and I also think of them as songs.
I like the list of things I’ve been. And the words that introduce what is to come.
And it’s hard to tell a story you don’t like.
I’ve thought about that sentence a lot over the years, probably more than any other in this intro. Because I lived there for a long time. It feels good to say today that things have shifted, that I like my story more. I like the life I’m living.
I dig the way the intro ends, with a focus on the reader.
May these words find you like a friend.
You are officially invited to join me July 10 as we celebrate 10 years of If You Feel Too Much. with a special online event. That’s a Thursday and we’ll start at 8pm ET. Learn more here.
To work with me, whether that looks like a speaking event, one-on-one coaching session, or small-group conversation, please visit my website.
Ever Get Home merch can be found in the online store.