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Preface to the Third Edition

I am happy—relieved, even—to share this new edition of Kindling, which adds thirty-two new chapters to the original forty. I had many of the ideas for these chapters when I published the first edition for my kids in 2012 and the second for wider distribution in 2013, and many other ideas have occurred to me and been recorded since, but it was not until my recent retirement that I was able to turn them into additional chapters.

At the heart of the new chapters—and the new edition—is the chapter on Faith. In the preface to earlier editions I shared the importance of faith to me and acknowledged that it informed the perspective of the book. This edition builds on the references to faith in the earlier editions, exploring both faith and related ideas (like empathy, gratitude, forgiveness, and love) in more detail.

I believe that adolescence and early adulthood are often really important times for considering such ideas and deciding which to build your life on. This book is meant to be “kindling” (to help you begin building your fire) and to point you to sources of “wood for your fire” in the form of additional recommended readings. That said, I continue to believe, as I said in the Preface to earlier editions, that most of the ideas in the book are relevant and useful to everyone, no matter where they stand on faith.

There are also additional chapters on everyday lessons I have learned, like practices that promote efficiency, and chapters on civic issues, like the importance of education.

I hope all of this is of some use to you and wish you all the best on your journey.


https://kindlingwilliamclyde.blogspot.com


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Preface

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