February 3, 2016
The Remarkable Man:
Champions To Women, Heroes To Children, Brothers To Each Other
Dwayne H. Klassen
Aviva Publishing (2013)
978-1-935586-69-2 (soft cover version)
978-1-935586-70-8 (hard cover version)
978-1-935586-71-5 (ebook version)
New Book Offers Twenty-First Century Guide to Being a Remarkable Man
The Remarkable Man begins with a gripping scene. Author Dwayne Klassen, long before he considers writing a book, is on a sky-train transit system. An elderly Indian couple is seated across from him with their grandchildren. A large, belligerent skinhead enters the train; his body is covered in Nazi racial slurs, his hands are clutching a beer. He sees the Indian man and says:
“Hey, old man, it’s time for you to die,” he snarled. “Me and you are going to have a little fun.” With that, he punched an advertising sign above the man’s turban with such force that the bang startled everyone in the car.
Klassen was left wondering what to do. I won’t give away the end of the story. I’ll just say that Klassen’s decision was Remarkable. But Klassen did not write this book to praise himself as the Remarkable Man. He wrote this book because he is keenly aware of his own shortcomings and the difficult journey he had to take to realize just what defines a man and what is required for a man to be truly Remarkable.
Klassen believes too many men feel unappreciated and devalued, made to look like idiots on television (The Simpsons, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Family Guy), and left confused by women who want them to be sensitive yet strong. The Remarkable Man wants and learns how to be a champion to women, a hero to children, and a brother to his fellow men, but achieving that goal is not easy.
By first telling his own personal story, Klassen allows men to understand where he is coming from. He then discusses the Seven Essentials for being a man, including self-responsibility and how to understand and conquer the ego. Finally, he offers practical advice upon issues facing men, including raising children, balancing masculine and feminine energy to be the kind of man women want, and a call to set aside the fears and activities that hold you back from being Remarkable.
For me, this book truly seemed like the start of the second generation of the men’s movement. I’ve read Robert Bly’s books and similar ones that focus on the roles of men in mythology, and while those books were groundbreaking and made men reconsider their roles, it’s time now for men to come forth and share their personal stories as Klassen has done to address the issues men face in the twenty-first century.
Klassen doesn’t hold back in telling it like it is. One aspect of this book I especially appreciated was what he says about sports. Klassen states:
People use sports as one of the biggest “go back to sleep” tools out there. If you’re tuned into sports for three hours at a shot, I guarantee you won’t be working on your purpose. And the system will thank you for it. Think about it. Whether your team wins or loses, how much do you gain personally? Nothing! No growth, no progress, no new awareness....
Advertisers know the weakened state of a man’s mind while he’s watching sports on TV. They bombard him with images that lower his intelligence and sense of identity to something ridiculous or impossible for the average guy....
Next time you’ve watched your game on TV, ask yourself, “After three hours of my precious time, who really won? Was it my team? Was it the advertisers? Was it the owners? Or was it me?”
Klassen straightforwardly asks men, “What prevents you from living the life you know you can live, the life you know you must live, the life you are meant to live?” And he encourages men to turn off the TV and anything else holding them back so they can start living that life: “The Remarkable Man is not someone else. He’s not an impossible image to behold. He’s not somewhere else—leaping tall buildings or performing superhuman feats. He’s in you, and you know it to be true.”
The Remarkable Man is by no means a dating book, but Klassen does address what women want in a man. The Women’s Movement has left many men confused and vulnerable. Men are told to show their sensitive sides, only to have their women think they are wusses. Klassen addresses male and female energy and how to balance it in a relationship: “What kind of men do you think these empowered, strong, and evolving women want? They want men who do more than just keep up with them; they want men who will inspire and challenge them.” He goes on to state: “With this book, I hope to be a catalyst for change, to get rid of the old-world masculine where the ego’s in power, and bring forth authentic masculine power that honors and respects the true essence of a woman, brings you confidence and creativity, and gives you inner knowledge of who you truly are.”
Any man would do well to read this book. Klassen doesn’t pretend to have all the answers; in fact, he wants to raise questions and keep the conversation going. The Remarkable Man is a great starting point, and in conjunction, Klassen has founded The Remarkable Man Project, a growing organization for men filled with events and networking so men can support their brothers and feel someone has their back. I applaud Klassen for his efforts to be Remarkable and the message he offers other men that they can do the same.
For more information about Dwayne Klassen, The Remarkable Man, and the Remarkable Man Project, visit www.RemarkableManProject.com.
— Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D. and author of the award-winning Narrow Lives
