Reconnected
How 7 Screen-Free Weeks with Monks and Amish Farmers Helped Me Recover the Lost Art of Being Human
-
-
4.9 • 8 Ratings
-
-
- $12.99
Publisher Description
USA TODAY BESTSELLER
Change your relationship with technology. Change your life.
Share. Post. Reply…Most of us have gotten so used to notifications and alerts, pings and rings, that even if we don't want to be on our phones so much, we don't know what to do about it. The constant flow of information affects our brains, relationships, and emotional well-being. We feel stuck, overwhelmed, overstimulated, and we want a way out.
Like many of us, podcaster and author Carlos Whittaker had lived for years in an always-on, always-connected world—and he felt more disconnected than ever from God, his community, and even himself. When Carlos Whittaker realized how many hours he was on his phone, he took extreme measures to see how unplugging could change his body and soul.
In Reconnected, Carlos shares the challenges, surprises, and profound insights of his self-imposed exile from technology, spending nearly two months screen-free at a monastery, an Amish farm, and at home. As you journey with Carlos through this life-changing experiment you will discover:
how to retrain yourself to notice the world before you notice your texts;what technology does to your brain and what you can do about it;ways to prioritize in-person relationships even if you need screens for work or school;why turning down your phone's volume turns up God's voice in your life;the newfound joy of being bored, getting lost, and not having to Google every question that comes to your mind.
Blending wisdom from the past, practices of intentionality and community, and Whittaker's signature engaging communication style, Reconnected will inspire and equip you to reset your life in a tech-saturated world. It's time to take back control of your life from technology and recover the lost art of being human. You were made for more. This is how you start living again.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Whittaker (Get Your Hopes Up) shares an enlightening account of how a seven-week break from his phone and other digital devices changed his life. Sobered by a notification that he spent an average of seven hours and 23 minutes a day on his phone, the author stayed at a monastery in the California desert and an Amish farm in Ohio in hopes that the quiet and simplicity on offer there would "reset" his body and mind. He learned to savor the little things, like the flavor of coffee; to commune more freely with God; and to rediscover the joys of a spontaneous, non-efficiency-based lifestyle (of driving sans GPS, he writes, "what if by getting lost on the way to work... you run across a beautiful view or an under-the-radar park? You'll never know unless you try"). More broadly, he perceptively identifies the market-based machinations underlying the internet's outrage-provoking content ("Most of the well-produced content out there that makes your blood boil is literally making money off your blood boiling"). It's a thought-provoking examination of the challenges of online connection—and the benefits of breaking free once in a while.
