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In his latest release, Fish Out of Water: A Search for the Meaning of Life, Metaxas shares his own story of growing up in an ethnically diverse household and the subsequent beginnings of his journey of faith. Apr 18, 2021. Eric Metaxas Fish Out of Water Eric Metaxas, a bestselling author, shares the testimony of his salvation. The Lord speaks to us in the secret vocabulary of our hearts. He is pursuing us always.
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- A best-selling author chronicles his life in 1970s Danbury to reveal in the ordinary.
- Fish Out of Water / ERIC METAXAS. 2021-04-21 09:30:00. Eric Metaxas is an award-winning and New York Times best-selling Author. He is the host of the Eric Metaxas Radio Show, a nationally syndicated radio program heard in more than 120 cities around the U.S., featuring in-depth interviews with a wide variety of guests.
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What Happens When One of America’s Most Beloved Biographers Writes His Own Biography?
For Eric Metaxas, the answer is Fish Out of Water: A Search for the Meaning of Life—a poetic and sometimes hilarious memoir of his early years, in which the Queens-born son of Greek and German immigrants struggles to make sense of a world in which he never quite seems to fit.
Renowned for his biographies of William Wilberforce, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Martin Luther, Metaxas is the author of five New York Times bestsellers, the witty host of the acclaimed Socrates in the City podcast, and a nationally syndicated radio personality. But here he reveals a personal story few have heard, taking us from his mostly happy childhood—and riotous triumphs at Yale—to the nightmare of drifting toward a dark abyss of meaninglessness from which he barely escapes.
Along the way he introduces us to an unforgettable troupe of picaresque characters who join this quintessentially first-generation American boy in what is both bildungsroman and odyssey—and which underscores just how funny, serious, happy, sad, and ultimately meaningful life can be.
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Praise for Fish Out of Water
“In this portrait of the Metaxas as a young man, deeply serious matters exist most comfortably with great wit and maximum humor. As enjoyable as it is to follow him from birth through the fog of his twenties and into the sunlight at their end, you will see that you have also painlessly embraced a wonderful complexity. Even the title represents multiple meanings woven throughout the book and, as in the solution to a mystery, unified and made clear at its end. A delight. I read it in the sunshine, which was entirely appropriate.”
— Mark Helprin, NY Times bestselling author of many books, including A Winter’s Tale and A Soldier of the Great War
“A profoundly moving memoir.”
— Booklist (Starred Review)
— Mark Helprin, NY Times bestselling author of many books, including A Winter’s Tale and A Soldier of the Great War
“A profoundly moving memoir.”
— Booklist (Starred Review)
“…a narrative reminiscent of Saint Augustine’s Confessions, Metaxas delivers a warts-and-all exploration of his youth”
— Kirkus
— Kirkus
“Writing is an art form in its own right, every bit as admirable as painting, sculpture, theater and music, as Eric Metaxas … so ably demonstrates [in Fish Out of Water], a memoir of his life that meticulously details ordinary and extraordinary personal events with charismatic finesse… deep insight and laugh-out-loud humor. [A] thoroughly delightful read, a top candidate for anyone’s summer (or even spring) reading list.”
— The Washington Times
— The Washington Times
Eric Metaxis Fish Out Of Water
“…Fish Out of Water masterfully mixes a coming-of-age story with deeply introspective questions.…This is what the world needs right now.”
— Western Journal
— Western Journal
“Eric Metaxas [is] one of our nation’s most brilliant and morally serious public intellectuals.”
— Robert P. George, Princeton University
— Robert P. George, Princeton University
“Metaxas is a major writer. Not to be missed.”
— Dick Cavett
— Dick Cavett
“This memoir of one of our best writer’s coming of age is a beautiful thing: deeply intelligent, spiritually acute, and laugh-out-loud funny.”
— Bret Lott, bestselling author of fourteen books including Jewel, an Oprah Book Club selection
— Bret Lott, bestselling author of fourteen books including Jewel, an Oprah Book Club selection
“A wonderful story wonderfully told. Eric Metaxas knows how to tell complex things simply, and serious things with lively wit. Mailbutler. He is that rare and delightful being: a terrific writer with something important to say.”
— Andrew Klavan, international bestselling author, two-time Edgar Award winner
— Andrew Klavan, international bestselling author, two-time Edgar Award winner
“The story rolls along and carries us with it, hilarious and heart-breaking by turns, vivid and contemplative, and regularly touched with poetry. Eric Metaxas is a brilliant communicator.”
— Frederica Mathewes-Green, Orthodox Christian author and speaker
— Frederica Mathewes-Green, Orthodox Christian author and speaker
“According to Dostoevsky, when Russian boys meet, they talk about God. Reading the book by Eric Metaxas, I felt the author and myself as such Russian boys. His youth was spent in the USA, mine in the USSR – countries, to put it mildly, very different. Despite this, we are remarkably similar. This concerns our first literary impressions (special thanks to “Werther”!), our first own discoveries, and most importantly – what is commonly called universal values. Only good books create unity between author and reader – wherever each of them may live. Fish Out of Water is such a book. It sparkles with wonderful humor. This only happens with the most serious books.”
— Eugene Vodolazkin, author of Laurus
— Eugene Vodolazkin, author of Laurus
![Meaning Meaning](/uploads/1/1/0/3/110385061/317718693.jpg)
“Truth really is stranger than fiction—stranger, less predictable, often (though not always) funnier, and weirder. Reality is not fastidious, doesn’t pay any attention to opinion polls. Openssh 7.9. Hence the appeal of this memoir by Eric Metaxas, an account of his formative years: a zany tale of literary aspirations…”
— John Wilson, Books & Culture editor (1995 to 2016); contributing editor for the Englewood Review of Books; senior editor at the Marginalia Review of Books
— John Wilson, Books & Culture editor (1995 to 2016); contributing editor for the Englewood Review of Books; senior editor at the Marginalia Review of Books
“With his inimitable intelligence and wit, Eric Metaxas recounts his formative years as a first-generation immigrant, the crucial development of his ability to think for himself rather than following the herd, and the process of learning to follow his heart and mind wherever the truth leads…”
— Jill Lamar, former editor-in-chief of Henry Holt and curator of new titles for Barnes & Noble
— Jill Lamar, former editor-in-chief of Henry Holt and curator of new titles for Barnes & Noble
“A delight! Eric Metaxas has crafted for each discerning reader a personal gift: A richly detailed, lovingly remembered American story that faces squarely serious issues to which every one of us should attend. From the struggles of immigrant families to bullying in school, from the trauma that victims of war and totalitarianism carry to the hunger for meaning that postmodern students face in college, Eric uses his own experience to illumine enduring, important questions. He does so with humor [and] moral insight….”
— John Zmirak, editor at Stream.org
— John Zmirak, editor at Stream.org
“How do brave men advance through adversity with courage and then summon courage from the rest of us? Read Eric Metaxas’s artfully scrappy memoir to cultivate courage and meet the public intellectual behind the books that we love. This memoir stands as a beacon to a world lost to us, and casts a tractor beam to a future which demands virtue, bravery, courage, and personal sacrifice…”
— Rosaria Butterfield, author of The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert
— Rosaria Butterfield, author of The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert
![Out Out](https://ericmetaxas.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Bonhoeffer-3D1.jpeg)
“At once an absorbing confessional memoir, a work of faith, a comedy and a literary achievement, Fish Out of Water by Eric Metaxas is one of the best books I’ve read in 2021. Gorgeously written, fun and spiritually enriching, deeply literate and hugely entertaining…”
— Mark Judge, Stream.org
— Mark Judge, Stream.org
What readers are saying…
“The autobiography is a wonder and a joy. I haven’t laughed this much in years. Incidentally, I’m reading it while on vacation and continue to cry with uncontrollable laughter. It’s a spectacle. My wife keeps looking at me with incredulity and then glances over her shoulder self-consciously, concerned what the other beach goers might be thinking of her wacko husband. Thanks again!”
--Peter
--Peter
“If Holden Caufield were to write his biography, this would be it! The first paragraph starting page 20 (I remember that Uncle Joe etc…) that sentence alone is worth the price of the book! This book puts me in a state of uncontrived/unfabricated naturalness, in other words a meditation with God. Thank you for this gift. It is like having a jewel in the palm of my hand!”
--David
--David
Eric Metaxas Fish Out Of Water
“I just finished your memoir. As a reader an English major I have a select pantheon of books that I consider to be great, influential, and iconic in the context of my life. I am happy to put your name in this same list as your book is one of the BEST works I have read in a while. You managed to make me laugh, cry, repent and think as I read your text. Sometimes simultaneously. While your golden fish story was simply transcendent, enough so that I had tears well up, several instances were simply laugh out loud funny in terms of their quality. My wife thought I was nuts, laughing the way that I was.”
--Phillip
--Phillip
“For years I’ve been grappling with how to write and communicate ideas especially about our search for God, meaning, redemption, truth, etc. and just couldn’t figure out a way of doing that without being cheesy or self conscious. Within minutes of reading Fish Out of Water, I knew that’s what you’ve achieved. I bought it and read it till 1:30am – hilarious, honoring, vivid, intense, sad, wonderful! I had to hold my mouth to stop guffawing with laughter so as not to wake up my husband. So really, I just wanted to say thank you!”
--Alison
--Alison
“Last night I went to bed with tears streaming out both sides of my eyes from laughing and crying reading your work. Link apple music to spotify. The genius way you string your words into (bam!) heartfelt messages touch my soul.”
--David
--David
Eric Metaxas Interesting Stories
“My husband (92) is absolutely loving your new book on Audible.”
--Jeannette
--Jeannette
“After reading the first few pages of Fish Out of Water, I decided to read that all the way through first. It is beautifully written, especially the chapter on “Because he’s your father.” After finishing that chapter, I felt compelled to write to you. Considering all of the garbage that is currently taught in our schools, were your book to be required reading, things would be better in our society.”
--Phil
--Phil
“Fish Out of Water is a truly delightful read, but – in an unprecedented twist – it has also given rise to new terminology in our household. A new phrase entered our family lexicon, and I am sure it will be with us ever after, when my wife recently exclaimed, ‘I have to hit the bathroom before I have a Bradlees!'”
--Jason
--Jason
“I’ve been listening to your book Fish Out of Water and am really enjoying it! Just finished the chapter about your dream of the golden fish. Wonderful! Love the symbolism.”
--Darrin
--Darrin
“I was just thinking how glad I was that my sermon prep was done for Sunday BECAUSE ERIC’S BOOK JUST ARRIVED and I’ve been devouring it these last 24 hours….and laughing out loud as was promised I would. Great stories so far and such wild characters from your childhood. Your Greek school teachers sounded amazing and somewhat horrifying. So fun!”
--Tami
--Tami
“I cannot even begin to explain or express my thrill over reading Fish Out of Water! Wow!”
--John
--John