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

A Million Miles in A Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life is a 2009 memoir and self-help book by American author Donald Miller. The book chronicles Miller’s journey of self-discovery while working on a film adaptation of his bestselling memoir Blue Like Jazz. Miller examines the significance of storytelling in finding meaning, navigating life’s challenges with resilience, and pursuing practical steps to living an intentional life.

Donald Miller is an American author, public speaker, and business owner. His writing explores themes of self-discovery, Christian spirituality, and the search for meaning in life.

This study guide references the 2009 eBook edition by Thomas Nelson.

Content Warning: The source material discusses illness, death, suicidal ideation, and addiction.

Summary

Miller structures the book in five parts that align with the five key elements of storytelling structure. In the opening chapter, Miller notes that most people forget parts of their lives because they are not memorable enough. Miller asserts that life is both a series of random experiences and a sequence of memories curated by our minds to arrive at meaning. Noting that God asks people to tell good stories with their lives, Miller hopes to have interesting stories to relate when he arrives in heaven.

Miller describes the ways that working on a film adaptation of his memoir made him look at his own life in a new way. Through screenwriting, Miller realized the power of storytelling and explored the impact of applying key story elements in real life. Miller learned that a story follows a narrative arc and a specific structure and began to explore the possibilities of viewing life as a story. Writing a fictional story based on his life helped Miller envision a better version of himself.

Miller emphasizes conflict as a key element of storytelling that attracts people to fictional stories. However, he notes, people resist the potential of conflict in real life, even when it would offer them more fulfilling experiences. After attending Robert McKee’s seminar on storytelling, Miller found that a good story revolves around a character who overcomes conflict to achieve their goal. He believes that in real life people negate conflict because they’re reluctant to confront life’s challenges with courage and actualize life’s great potential.

The screenwriting process urged Miller to confront conflict in his real life. Miller grew up without a father, a topic he always avoided discussing. When the filmmakers asked to incorporate the relationship into the film, Miller was forced to confront the issue in real life. Miller felt compelled to reconnect with his father and get his life together.

As Miller explored the potential of storytelling to help him find deeper meaning, he realized that the point of life, like in stories, is character transformation. People are designed to evolve and, therefore, must not fear change. Miller learned that, in films, actions define characters.  He reflected that his life was empty of stories because he rarely took action. As a writer, he lived in fantasies and, to change his life, he saw that he must act and have an ambition.

Miller asserts that to live like a character in a story, he allowed himself to be guided by God, the inner voice inside him urging him to live a better story. He realized that his initial resistance to action was a result of fear. People seek comfort because change represents a lack of control. However, for a story to happen, people must face their fears. Miller argues that dark forces in the world impede people from living good stories, while God wants people to create them.

Seeking an inciting incident in his life, Miller decided to go on a hiking trip to Machu Picchu. Because he was unprepared for such a physically rigorous endeavor, Miller was forced to join a gym and improve his personal fitness. Simultaneously, he decided to seek out his estranged father in an effort to take action in his own life. The trip to Machu Picchu proved transformative for Miller, as he realized his ability to confront physical challenges and accomplish practical goals. Reuniting with his father was another life-changing event that helped Miller to confront his fears. Miller forgave his father for being absent from his life, and the man’s acceptance and praise reinforced his self-confidence.

Pursuing more epic life stories, Miller embarked on a memorable kayak trip inspired by his encounter with Bob, an attorney who navigated his life with boldness. After Bob told Miller a story about his family inviting world leaders for sleepovers at their home, Miller realized that daily life could become extraordinary when people are willing to take risks.

To create his own epic story, Miller envisioned a mentoring program for children who grow up without a father. Miller emphasizes that while people tend to give up in the middle of their stories exhausted by the challenge, turning back is not an option. He notes that persisting in the journey by navigating conflict is the only way to achieve character growth. Despite the pain, he believes the memory of transformative experiences will remain in people’s consciousness.

After an unsuccessful romantic relationship, Miller panicked that he was unable to navigate a serious life partnership. He asserts that God helped him confront his turmoil and reach a new realization: People should not expect life to be perfect because, unlike fictional stories, real life has no climax. Human beings cannot find fulfillment through each other or their material lives. Instead, he believes, people can find contentment in pursuing memorable experiences with intentionality.

Miller argues that working on the Mentoring Project has provided him with meaning and gratitude. Understanding story structure helped Miller approach life with a different mindset and realize the significance of creating good stories for people and the world. Ultimately, he asserts, humanity has meaning and purpose, and he’s confident that he will tell interesting stories to God after meeting him in heaven.