Like Streams to the Ocean

Notes on Ego, Love, and the Things That Make Us Who We Are

By: Jedidiah Jenkins

Narrated by: Jedidiah Jenkins

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “As inviting, wide-ranging, and philosophical as an all-night conversation with a best friend, and as revealing and thought-provoking as the diary of a curious adventurer.”—Sasha Sagan, author of For Small Creatures Such as We

You can travel the world looking for yourself, but if you don't know what you're looking for, how can you find it? Like Streams To The Ocean is about examining the things that make us who we are and getting to know ourselves, our stories, and the decisions that shape our one and only life.

Writing with the passion and clarity that made his debut, To Shake the Sleeping Self, a national bestseller, Jedidiah Jenkins brings together new and old writings to explore the eight subjects that give life meaning: ego, family, home, friendship, love, work, death, the soul.

Who am I? What am I made of? How much of how I act boils down to avoiding the things that make me feel small? As he examines the experiences that shape our conscious and subconscious answers to these questions, Jenkins leads readers in a wide-ranging conversation about finding fulfillment in the people and places around us and discovering the courage to show our deepest selves to the world.

Critic reviews

“Jenkins’s thoughts on ego, family, home, friendship, love, work, death and the soul include pithy ones like, ‘It can be hard to tell the difference between an outcast and a pioneer,’ and ‘Your sense of self is built or broken by the company you keep.’”—The Washington Post, “10 Books to Read in February”

“Jedidiah Jenkins is a beautiful, attentively humane writer whose vivid prose comes suffused with the noble belief that words really do matter, and that through them we can know and be known. There is wisdom in this book, as well as something rarer still: the genuine and infectious faith that the good life—what the philosophers call flourishing—is attainable, and that one really can improve. I couldn’t put these essays down.”—Thomas Chatterton Williams, author of Self-Portrait in Black and White

“Like Streams to the Ocean is as inviting, wide-ranging, and philosophical as an all-night conversation with a best friend, and as revealing and thought-provoking as the diary of a curious adventurer.”—Sasha Sagan, author of For Small Creatures Such as We

“It’s rare to find the level of honesty and authenticity that Jenkins brings to his audience. In a world of constant noise, his storytelling is piercing in an almost familiar way. He’s managed to home in on that single idea that we all relate to and truly make you feel a part of the experience. This is the type of storytelling the world needs more of.”—Chris Burkard, award-winning photographer, author of At Glacier’s End

Praise for To Shake the Sleeping Self

“With winning candor, Jedidiah Jenkins takes us with him as he bicycles across two continents and delves deeply into his own beautiful heart. Every page of this book made me ache to know what happened next. Every chapter shimmered with truth. It’s an unforgettable debut.”—Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild

“At once an adventure story and personal diary of the internal struggles and ultimate triumph of a deeply thoughtful gay man.”—The Advocate

Love

My favorite of your books so far (and I’ve enjoyed them all). I enjoy the art of your writing and story immensely, but I also feel like a better person (and inspired to be a better person) when I read your books, and I love that.

great reflection-story of a journey through life

this book is told through the history of an individual.. but their journey is not that different from mine and l believe others as well

Great book #2

Outstanding, I was in all the way. Jedidiah has a great way of writing and telling a story. I enjoyed every second. I will listen again.
Thank you

Masterpiece.

I can't think of anyone I wouldn't recommend this book to. Brilliant, poignant, heartfelt, well presented, what else can be said. I have read or listened to thousands of books in my lifetime and I think this is quite possibly my all time favorite. Jedediah Jenkins, you have created a masterpiece.

Incredible book.

What to say but that this book truly changed my life. Read it and you will see what I mean. Thank you Jedidiah Jenkins.