Matthew has such a positive spin on his life with no excuses. I love how he lets you in, but does not dish dirt on anyone. Everything you go through in life is what makes you you - red and yellow lights will turn to green. FYI, the audio is fun because Matthew narrates, however the book has photos and his actual "notes to self".

Greenlights, Matthew McConaughey, author and narrator
This is a very inspiring book, even if some of the author’s approaches to life were a bit unorthodox. On life’s bumpy road, he never hesitated to face the roadblocks. He followed his whims and dreams wherever they took him. He never ran from responsibility, but instead, he faced it squarely and conquered every enemy or problem that faced him. Regardless of the outcome, he used every “red” light” to create a “green” one.
Undaunted by problems and/or the inevitable mistakes that occur, he marched on to his destiny, never allowing anything to obstruct his path. Every failure he faced was turned into a success by his positive attitude, by his unwillingness to falter when his way was impeded by outside forces. He wasn’t sure about what he wanted, but he ventured down all avenues that excited him, even some that would seem very dangerous to others and would have been avoided at all costs. He seemed to prevail every time because of his ability to remain positive in the face of all negative forces.
His family life was fraught with moments others would not have found acceptable, but he managed to come out of it unscathed, choosing to retain the positive influences of his parents and siblings rather than the negative ones. He concentrated on the love they surrounded him with, the discipline and the good advice given, and never concentrated on any form of abuse or rejection, by them or others. He dwelt on all forms of praise and acceptance instead, and he truly did make lemonade out of the lemons he encountered. His was resilient and used every incident he faced in his life as an inspiration to grow and improve. He refused to be stunted by adversity which was probably never more apparent than when he was in Australia as a student. He managed to turn what could have been a painful experience into one that brought him pleasure, friendships and knowledge about himself and the world.
I never read the memoirs of celebrities, but this one was highly recommended to me as an audio that was not only good but was read superbly by the author. I was not disappointed. He was especially gifted in his narration. It is humorous and serious both at the same time. His little bits of advice are common sense and yet had a profound influence on his life and will also influence the reader. It is almost a self-help book as it instructs the reader on how to accept life’s mistakes and use them to learn from the experience rather than to resent it and carry the pain forever.
I can only describe this as a charming book about Matthew’s life experiences, some lucky, some not so much, and about the advice of his parents that stayed with him which helped him to lead to his own self-discovery. Using the journals he wrote throughout his younger years he has written an easy to read uplifting book about the wonders of life.
In the end I found one fault with the book. He succumbed to the mob mentality in declaring that we couldn’t understand that life mattered until we realized that black lives mattered more. All lives matter, period, to me, especially with the headlines that scream today about murder and crime committed by the one group that he thought mattered more. That belief has turned the country upside down, and we may never recover from its impact. Crime and destruction reign in some cities as a result of this theory. Respect for all, equally, by all, is what I believe is the better advice, because power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely which is what is happening on our streets today.
Even if you do not ordinarily read a book written by a Hollywood celebrity, you should read this one.

I may be a bit biased in my positive opinion about the book as I am a huge fan of McConaughey. His book has an appropriate mix of life positives and life negatives that resonate with the average reader. He seems to appreciate all that he has achieved, though he has not forgotten who and what helped him. I wish him and his family health and happiness always.