On August 1st, we officially launched my newest book. It is entitled Confessions of a Carless Commuter: What 40,000+ Motorless Miles Taught Me About Life. As the title would indicate, it is a book born out of thousands and thousands of quiet miles spent on the road, ultimately reflecting on everyday life. The book is currently available on Amazon in paperback and e-book form, and is also available on my website. Information about it can also be found on my Facebook page or Instagram. The synopsis is as follows:
In the Spring of 2007, I pulled into an intersection in St. Louis after the light turned green. Suddenly, a van crashed into the side of my car. Although I fortunately emerged unharmed, our once reliable vehicle was totaled. With finances limited, and a friend encouraging me to consider public transportation, I started busing to work despite many reservations. A short time after relocating back home, I replaced most of my bus rides with bike and run commutes. For well over a decade, even with up to 8 kids and a very busy practice, most days began and ended in a motorless fashion.
On the surface, my commuting life was great for fitness, finances, stress relief, productivity, and the environment among many other gains. Gradually, it became an adventure full of trials and triumphs, one replete with lessons of everyday life—-not just for those who chose to commute this way, but for all of us. Through the blazing sun, torrential downpours, and frigid, dark mornings, the lessons kept coming just as miles did, too.
Confessions of a Carless Commuter: What 40,000+ Motorless Miles Taught Me About Life is a brief, frank compilation of these insights. Stories on the road are intertwined with lessons of the mind, heart, and soul; each of the lessons are part of a larger fabric of life driven by purpose, awe, and love. It’s where the revelations and revolutions begin.
So, you might ask, with all that is competing for my time and finances, why would I check this book out and consider passing it along to others? Here are 5 reasons why:
- It’s a quick, easy read. At just over 100 pages and written in a conversational style, it’s perfect for our busy lives
- Small changes in perspectives and habits can make a big difference in our happiness, health, and harmony with others. We’d all like to feel less anxious and more at peace. That’s what this book is all about.
- Life is expensive, but this book is not. At just under $10 for the paperback (and less than $6 for the Kindle version), it’s barely the cost of a morning trip to Starbucks.
- Whether or not you have ever biked or run a day in your life, this book is for you. Every single chapter applies to every person on any given day (and parents, it’s meant to be shared with your kids, too)
- We are all traveling in this journey of life together. This book provides some simple ideas of how we can unite more along the way.
As part of providing an introduction, I am including a few selected passages from the chapter entitled “Time & Space.”
In the early predawn hours, while most of the world sleeps, a fantastical phenomenon arises. I notice it on my commutes: Time seems to stand still. Even in anticipation of a busy day, I sense this in the stillness on the road. It is in such moments that I’m reminded of Einstein’s theory of relativity, which proposed that time isn’t a constant (as we think of it) – but relative.
Alone on the Greenway, a paved trail near our home, I have spent many a quiet mornings headed into downtown and then to work on 10- to 13-mile training runs. I have completed the routes hundreds of times. Without streetlights to illuminate my path, passing houses and a city park that sit silently over the levee near a tributary (Pigeon Creek) to the Ohio River, I have found more space than any other time during my work week. Although this segment is just a couple of miles in length, it is there that time seems only measured by the rhythms of my feet and my breathing. I usually do these runs in the cooler months, when the crisp darkness allows me to escape a world of deadlines and demands, as I set my own pace.
One of the true gifts of my carless commuting is having built-in periods throughout the week when, quite frankly, I can’t be reached. Whether I’m riding or running, I’m unconnected from technology. I decided long ago that I would refrain from any type of tech input during my carless commutes, and instead allow my mind to wander to whatever places and spaces I was so called. The more my roles and demands have grown, the more I find that I crave this physical and psychological space…..
I have learned critical lessons about time and space that have led to opportunities during a busy season of life. Think about the last time you lamented, “I just don’t have the time,” when it came to doing something you wanted or felt called to do? If ever there was a phrase uttered in resignation, it is this one. Yet, I would argue that what we really should be talking about is not physical time but rather what might be described as psychological time and space. Yes, I understand there’s no escaping the reality that time is finite, and we only have so many hours in the day to get things done. I know what it means to be busy, and to see boredom as rare and desirable.
Nevertheless, I think what we tend to struggle with most is actually finding psychological time and space, and I believe there are three primary culprits: anxiety, fatigue, and distraction…
I hope all this information will encourage you to check out the book, and pass it along to others. Ultimately, this book is part of a larger mission to increase the happiness, health, and harmony of individuals and our community. You might ask yourself, beyond buying the book, if I believe in this mission, how can I help?
- Pass the book and this information along to anyone that you think might be interested and benefit from it.
- Beyond friends/families, consider taking this book to various groups that you are a part of. Whether it is a book club, fellowship group in your faith community, work group at your place of employment, or athletic team/extra-curricular club, the easy to read and widely applicable format of this book makes it a great catalyst for discussion and growth. For those interested in buying in bulk, there is a reduced rate available. Please contact me at this email or jimandamyschroeder@gmail.com.
- If you are on social media, share the information through Facebook and Instagram (and any other outlet). In anticipation of the official book launch, there is already information about the book and the mission on Facebook/Instagram, including advanced praise from readers who have already checked it out. It can be found on Facebook at @jschroeder133 and Instagram at @jschroeder133
- Reviews on Amazon are a great way to promote the book. It has been shown that even a single positive review can be the difference between individuals purchasing the book or not. Our goal is 100 reviews by the end of September. Consider spending even five minutes to post your own review. This can be done even if you haven’t purchased the book off Amazon, and you can be as anonymous or visible as you want.
In whatever you do, thank you for being part of this mission.