A Million Miles In A Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life

Miller argues that when people live a story, the first part is fast. Throwing themselves into the story, they feel they are close to the distant shore and the resolution. However, Miller suggests that the narrative takes many turns before its end. He notes that the reward from a story is small and the work is hard because the point of the story is not the ending but the character growth over the course of the narrative. Miller returns to his bike ride experience as an example—a trip that felt like it would not end. He suggests that many people give up exactly in the middle of their stories because it becomes harder than expected.

Miller cites McKee, who explained that storytellers must lead their characters to a point where they cannot take it anymore. Recalling his kayak trip, Miller describes the crossing from Bob’s place back to the shore, emphasizing the glowing beauty of the ocean in the middle of their trip before reaching the beach. Miller notes that the same happens in every life crossing—people paddle and think they will not make it, but the shore is ready to welcome them.

Miller suggests that conflict brings people together. Miller refers to his bike trip and the miscellaneous group that made him feel out of place. However, once the bike ride started, their differences did not matter. After weeks, the group started bonding. The experience and their pains to make it to the end bound them. Miller recalls crossing Joshua Tree, exhausted. Even though he was miserable, he thought about story structure and how conflict becomes a “blessing” for the protagonist. He knew that he would love the memory despite the pain.

Miller formed a relationship with the girl he met on the trip to Peru. The couple made plans to get married, and Miller expressed his love to a woman for the first time. However, the relationship ultimately ended. Miller suggests they put too much pressure on each other, thinking each would rescue the other. Once their arguments started, they could no longer communicate and broke up. Miller was in a dark place and had no direction. He suggests that after a tragedy, God allows people a period of numbness. Miller spent time working and giving speeches. He recalls suddenly panicking before a speech, thinking he was “unlovable” and unable to navigate a mature relationship. Having emerged from his period of numbness, the emotions felt overwhelming and he understood why people think about suicide. Miller thought about God, feeling He was cruel to him and wishing his pain would be taken away.

Miller refers to Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist, philosopher, and Holocaust survivor who wrote about his work to prevent suicide among his fellow prisoners in concentration camps (Man’s Search for Meaning). Frankl argued that life has meaning even during moments of extreme human suffering. Such an idea requires humility and faith achieved at moments of hopelessness. He argues that if people understand themselves as part of a greater story, they find hope in the midst of their tragedy, knowing it will lead them to redemption. For Miller, pain is meaningful. He refers to the Bible and the book of Job, suggesting that Job found joy “outside the context of comfort, health or stability” (197).

Miller managed to overcome his panic and give the speech. Through Frankl, he realized he was “a tree in a story about a forest” (198). Finally, he asked God to help him understand the story of the forest.

Miller argues that climaxes, the point in a story where tension is relieved, do not happen in real life. He notes that people like climaxes out of a desire for “wish fulfillment.” He recalls Steve and himself feeling emotional when they realized the climax of their movie: a confrontational moment when the character asks for forgiveness. Miller notes that human beings respond to the idea of resolving tension. However, Miller rejects the idea of a life climax as utopian, explaining that ultimate resolution and redemption in life will not come on Earth, but in the life beyond this one. Miller asserts that while there are “minor climaxes” in people’s lives, they are only “substories” (202). There is no climax to the human story because it goes on beyond death.

Miller also notes that Jesus Christ doesn’t solve all human problems and make things perfect. Although Miller loves the depiction of hope in the Bible, he emphasizes that he has given up on the idea that life and people can be perfect or complete on Earth. People, he believes, will find contentment when they stop expecting completion or perfection in this life since only being reunited with Jesus after death can bring completion in people’s souls.

During a writing session, Steve and Ben told Miller that the plot must unfold through memorable scenes. Miller notes that this also applies to life. He argues that when people recall their lives, they remember scenes and the crazy things they did. Miller recalls a friend who wore a suit to take a photo with his daughter before her prom dance to make the moment memorable. He also recalls Bob and his family falling into the lake. Like a good film, a good life also contains memorable scenes.

Miller mentions the documentary Darius Goes West, emphasizing that it unfolds in “a series of memorable scenes” (212). He emphasizes that the film was not fiction but “real people creating real moments” (212) and bonding through beautiful experiences with intentionality.

Miller mentions scenes from the Bible where God asks people to build an altar. For Miller, God did this to help people remember the moment, and that memories are central to the creation of a good story.