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“Those looking for commonsense guidance to a more self-directed life will find it here.”

~ Publishers Weekly

Lessons From an American Stoic

Twelve essential teachings that hold the answer
to living an authentic and fulfilling life.

A lifelong Emerson lover, teacher, and spiritual seeker reveals how American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essential teachings hold the answer to living an authentic and fulfilling life, one that is in harmony with our souls.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a spiritual revolutionary whose profound vision of human potential came to define the American character. Known as America’s original Stoic, he offered a radical message of optimism, authenticity, and self-realization that is more necessary today than ever.
In this timely, remarkable book, noted memoirist and teacher Mark Matousek reveals the depths of Emerson’s extraordinary wisdom, demonstrating how his timeless philosophy can help us navigate the challenges of contemporary life. Using personal stories, psychological research, and life lessons from Emerson and his contemporaries— including Thoreau and Whitman — he offers practical lessons in the art of living. In the following pages, you will discover:

  • Why Emerson should be considered America’s original stoic
  • How to dispel the illusion of our own powerlessness and turn toward boundless human potential
  • Practical tools for cultivating happiness in a fragile, unpredictable, dangerous world
  • The gifts of self-reliance and spiritual renewal necessary for thriving
  • A roadmap to discovering essential wisdom on living an authentic and meaningful life

Emerson’s far-reaching vision of excellence and spiritual flourishing is the medicine we need to heal ourselves. “Trust yourself,” he teaches. “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” This philosophy of hope, known as transcendentalism, is the vein of gold in the American psyche. Lessons from an American Stoic helps us to reclaim our national treasure.

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PRAISE FOR LESSONS FROM AN AMERICAN STOIC

“Those looking for commonsense guidance
to a more self-directed life will find it here.”

~ Publishers Weekly

“This beautifully written book on Emerson offers great
principles and notions for living through these difficult times.
It’s a book of great vitality, vision and liberation.”

~ V (formerly Eve Ensler) author of Reckoning

In “Lessons From an American Stoic,” Mark Matousek, a writing coach and spiritual guide from Springs, N.Y., reminds us that inside the human mind resides not a stable self but a “shifting composite,” a messy bundle of “impressions, memories, expectations, projections, opinions, and myths.” Mr. Matousek’s book offers 12 lessons (and an appendix of
corresponding exercises) to help us take charge of our complex inner lives. Although the topics range widely, from originality to intimacy to enlightenment, the lessons have the same underlying purpose—to persuade us that self-awareness is the pathway to self-reliance and individual healing.”

~ The Wall Street Journal

“In Lessons from an American Stoic, Mark Matousek is more than an outstanding biographer of the legendary Emerson. He joins the lineage of Emerson by adding his own hard-earned wisdom and care. In translating Emerson’s insights to our modern world, Mark has done a great service for the soul of America. This is a great book. It will open your heart, expand your mind, and help you live more truly, more fully, and more lovingly.”

~ Mark Nepo, author of The Half-Life of Angels and Falling Down and Getting Up

“In this deeply felt account of a personal relationship with the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Matousek seems to discover the guidance that was absent from his childhood. Eager to share not only the wisdom he received, but also the comfort, he explains how Emerson’s precepts apply to any troubled life and presents a usefully sorted guide to what principles to apply where. It is a filial love story, a profound appreciation of a great mind and spirit.”

~ Andrew Solomon, author of Far & Away: How Travel Can Change the World

PRESS AND MEDIA

August 21, 2023
Lessons from Ralph Waldo Emerson with Mark Matousek

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August 16, 2023
Lessons From an American Stoic with Mark Matousek

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By Christoph Irmscher – June 30, 2023
‘Lessons From an American Stoic’ Review: Emerson the Roman
The author of ‘Self-Reliance’ was also a reader of the classics. That may be why his wisdom still endures.

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June 18, 2023
Lessons from an American Stoic: How Emerson Can Change Your Life by Mark Matousek

June 14, 2023
How Emerson Can Help You Become a Stoic Nonconformist

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June 14, 2023
The Anxiety Project Podcast with Brad Robinson

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April 17, 2023
Lessons from an American Stoic: How Emerson Can Change Your Life

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About Mark

Mark Matousek is an award-winning author of eight books, Sex Death Enlightenment: A True Story, The Boy He Left Behind, When You’re Falling, Dive, Ethical Wisdom: The Search for a Moral Life, Dialogues with a Modern Mystic, Ethical Wisdom for Friends, Mother of the Unseen World, and Writing to Awaken: A Journey of Truth, Transformation, and Self-Discovery. He was the co-editor on the book Still Here by Ram Dass.

His latest book, released in June 2023, is Lessons from an American Stoic: How Emerson Can Change Your Life. In this timely, remarkable book, Mark reveals the depths of Emerson’s extraordinary wisdom, demonstrating how his timeless philosophy can help you navigate the challenges of contemporary life. His work has appeared in numerous anthologies and publications, including The New Yorker, O: The Oprah Magazine, Details, Tricycle, Good Housekeeping, and Harper’s Bazaar. He blogs regularly for Psychology Today and offers workshops, retreats, and online classes in creativity and spiritual growth using his Writing to Awaken method.

In 2013, Mark founded The Seekers Forum, an international fellowship dedicated to the cultivation of self-awareness and spiritual insight through dialogue, self-inquiry, and expressive writing. The Seekers Forum presents programs on topics related to self-care, spirituality, and personal awakening and offers a unique open-door community for folks seeking wisdom, camaraderie, and practical tools for living a more awakened life.

Mark is on the faculty of The New York Open Center, The Omega Institute, 1440, Esalen, The Rowe Center, Hollyhock, and Blue Spirit, Costa Rica and produces his own Writing to Awaken workshops and retreats in the US, Canada, and Europe. As a teacher and speaker his work focuses on personal awakening and creative excellence through transformational writing and self-inquiry. He is a co-founder of V-Men, the male arm of V-Day, V's (formally Eve Ensler’s) movement to end violence against women and girls.