Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of Soul Boom by Rainn Wilson. I have always enjoyed Wilson's approach to life - both as Dwight and as a human with what seems to be a non-serious and yet totally serious attitude about being human. 🙃

What drives this story and his theories on healing our culture through a Soul Boom is unity. Bringing humans closer to one another by acknowledging our shared experiences, understanding, and ultimately, shared survival.

I didn’t previously know anything about Rainn Wilson’s interests and activism outside of acting – didn’t know that he had cofounded both the feelgood website/YouTube channel SoulPancake and an educational initiative for rural Haitian girls called Lidè Haiti; didn’t know that he’s a passionate environmental activist or that he is very active within the Baháʼí faith community — so while I was intrigued enough by the description of Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution to have been prompted to pick it up, I simply didn’t realise that this is exactly the sort of book that Wilson should be expected to write. Filled with a lifetime of experience, thought, and spiritual/literary quotes, Soul Boom explores what is wrong with modern life, defines what should be meant by terms like “sacred” and “divine”, and gives suggestions for how we could all work to make life on Earth better for everyone by recognising and honouring the sacred and divine in one another. Wilson’s tone is engaging and often self-deprecating — he acknowledges that he’s an actor, not a guru; admits his privilege as a successful white American male while begging leave to discuss poverty, racism, and sexism — and he seems sincere, knowledgeable, and eager to effect positive social change. I appreciated his interfaith approach — quoting from the Buddah, Jesus, Mohammed, Bahá'u'lláh (founder of the Baháʼí faith), etc., it’s clear that all religions are based on the idea of loving one another even if institutionalised religion seems to have forgotten that fact — and I was totally on board with everything Wilson writes about the present and the past. But when he gets to the prescriptive parts — describing what a new religion for all could look like and the specific steps we could all take to get to that ideal Star Trek-type Earth in the future — my interest started to wane and my cynicism took over (and, yes, I understand I’m supposed to fight pessimism with joy so that “they” don’t win but I am human and jaded about my fellow humans). I wish it could be this straightforward, and I hope that many, many others read Soul Boom and continue the conversation that Wilson has started; a spiritual revolution just might be what we need.

I was a follower of SoulPancake when it was a newish thing back in the day so I was intrigued by this book.

As someone whose beliefs have been shaken are currently under scrutiny, this was a great read.

While various religions (even a made up one) are discussed at length, this isn’t a religious book.

This is a book about connection and caring for each other.

If you approach your reading of "Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution" expecting to experience the quirky hilarity of Rainn Wilson's iconic Dwight Schrute character from "The Office," then you're likely to find "Soul Boom" a bit of a disappointment.

It's not that there's no humor to be found in "Soul Boom." There's most definitely humor to be found here, however, "Soul Boom" for the most part gives us the other side of Rainn Wilson - a more contemplative fellow, devoted family man, and longtime spiritual human being raised in and still following the Baháʼí faith and fiercely devoted to climate issues.

In an increasingly challenged world, Wilson's "Soul Boom" explores the role spirituality can play, and in his opinion should play, in developing solutions for this complex world. The book reads as part spiritual autobiography and part spiritual manifesto, a weaving together of Wilson's own spiritual beliefs with a broader spectrum exploring a variety of spiritual paths and how they all lead toward solutions to help create the better world that so many of us long for these days.

While "Soul Boom" isn't immersed in Wilson's more humorous side, I'd expect his devoted fans to still be happy here as he still brings humor and his incredibly unique perspectives to needed conversations. Wilson's basic stance is that we have a world that is in need of profound healing and a unifying understanding AND that the spiritual traditions of the world all help provide this understanding. In a relaxed and relatable way, Wilson's approach to spirituality - the non-physical, eternal aspects of ourselves - applies to people of all beliefs and/or religions including the skeptics, agnostics, and atheists. Wilson offers up a variety of genuine insights along with Kung Fu and Star Trek references sure to make readers reflect and smile.

With "Soul Boom," Wilson digs deeper into ancient wisdom in an effort to foster transformative answers to life's biggest questions and the biggest challenges facing us today. It may not be the book you expected from Rainn Wilson, but it's likely the book we needed Rainn Wilson to give us.

When I was in seminary, one of my very first assignments was to write a very detailed spiritual autobiography. There are times when "Soul Boom" feels very much like this assignment. While Wilson's journey through his spiritual life is engaging, it feels less focused given the book's stated purpose of exploring "why we need a spiritual revolution." At times, "Spiritual Boom" needs a little more revolution. However, for those who've grown tired of the conflict-filled social media world and a world where it seems like we have more problems than solutions, "Spiritual Boom" is an engaging and entertaining breath of fresh air offering us entertaining and enlightening ideas on how we can all work together to make the world a better place for everyone.

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to review “Soul Boom” prior to publication. I am appreciative and leave my sincerity review voluntarily.

Didn’t finish this one. May work better as an audiobook, but the tone of this one felt rambling and I just didn’t get into it.