Listening to Matthew McConaughey is like sitting in a small-town bar enjoying a beer with an old high school buddy while John Mellencamp strums his guitar through the speakers—familiar, real, and raw. 

I chose to listen to Greenlights because I wanted to hear Matthew McConaughey’s words in his Texan twang. Then I bought the hardcover for the pictures. Not knowing much about him, I didn’t have expectations other than thinking the book would be glamourous and glitzy like all of Hollywood. Boy, was I wrong. 

I had seen a few of his movies and enjoyed all of them—even the romantic comedies, which he chose to step away from to rebrand himself. I honestly didn’t realize how interesting Matthew was until listening to his book. 

Matthew (don’t call him Matt) writes his book based on his diaries he kept over the years and views life as catching a series of greenlights—signs that say keep going and carry on. “This book is about catching greenlights and realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green.”

Growing up, he subscribed to outlaw logic—bar fights, rites of passages, cussing, concussions, and scars—making him appear a little cocky with a tough exterior. Yet he comes across as likable and down to earth with his Ram truck and charm that seduced all the ladies. 

He recounts many adventures through Australia, South America, and Africa, leaving the reader wondering how many of his stories are exaggerated. That aside, he is an incredible storyteller, interweaving nuggets of wisdom throughout like, “Sometimes we need to leave what we know to find out what we know.” 

I am a travel lover too, so I enjoyed how he packed up and left whenever he wanted. Ah, the sweet freedom. Not on a private jet or a yacht—he drove a van he named “Cosmo,” hooked up an Airstream to the back of it, and traversed the U.S., stopping at trailer parks. In my mind, celebrities travel in style with an entourage or a bodyguard, but Matthew set out on his own with his dog and took the dirt roads (cue up John Mellencamp’s “Small Town” song here). Many of the lessons he learned in life came from his travels, and he shares them in this book. 

After he became famous from the movie A Time to Kill, he traveled somewhere to find answers, and that somewhere made me gasp—The Monastery of Christ in the Desert in Abiquiu, New Mexico. Up until last year, my dad lived down the road from this monastery, and I had visited it in 1996. It’s secluded and in the middle of the desert. Matthew’s mention of Abiquiu, a town of 231 people, took me completely by surprise. This part of his journey brought tears to my eyes because I had experienced similar feelings that he divulged at the exact place he was feeling them, and around the same time! “Sometimes we don’t need advice. Sometimes we just need to hear we’re not the only one.”

Although he talks about acting, it’s secondary to getting to know Matthew as a person. However, now I want to go back and watch his other movies. I think I’ll see him through a new lens of appreciation and understanding. 

Overall, this was an uplifting read with a lot of great takeaways from a man who has lived and traveled through many green lights. 

Thank you for reading. Please enjoy 20% off a Chirp audiobook using this link. 

Annie Cathryn is in the process of querying her first novel and finishing up her second. She has a degree in journalism and master’s in communications from Marquette University. For eleven years, she worked in corporate marketing for a Fortune 500 company before starting a marketing consulting agency. She lives with her husband and daughter outside of Chicago, and her family of three is outnumbered and ruled by non-humans—a tabby cat, a yellow lab, and two goldfish. Connect with her on Instagram, she’d love to hear from you.