“Paddle Your Own Canoe” by Nick Offerman is a hilarious and charming guide to living life deliciously. Who is Nick Offerman you may ask? You may know him as the character Ron Swanson from “Parks and Recreation” on NBC. With a love for red meat, his luxuriously perfect facial hair and a hard day’s work, Offerman offers up his nonconformist view on how to properly live life.
Being Offerman’s first book, many people, myself included, weren’t sure what to expect, though it received high reviews. The book is categorized as a memoir, though I don’t feel that is entirely correct. After reading I believe it to be a “man-oir,” or a manly memoir. Offerman admits in the preface, appropriately called “Foreplay,” that not everyone will like his book, and that’s perfectly acceptable as everyone is different.
Offerman gets very personal and really lets the reader in on his life. There were many things mentioned in the book that I didn’t previously know; for example, his Catholic upbringing. He mentions family life, his relationship with his wife Megan Mullally, and his real-life woodworking business in which he actually does build his own canoes. He discusses his comedy career and where his deadpan style that he is known for originated from.
The chapters in “Paddle Your Own Canoe” get better and better as it goes along. Offerman begins the book by explaining how his upbringing working on a farm in small town Illinois has sculpted him into the self-sufficient man he is today. He then goes right into a chapter on red meat, complete with animal diagrams of what to eat (pig and cow), and what not to (fish and chicken).
The transitions may seem random, but they flow well together.
Offerman tries to make it clear that he is not Ron Swanson, and mentions how he differs from the character. He goes on later to say that the inspiration for Swanson probably came more from his father than himself. Offerman’s father, whom he describes as a “stoic, stern, hardworking yet caring man,” is a hero and idol for Offerman due to his teachings of hard work and discipline.
The book jumps from anecdotes about Offerman’s past, to lessons or guides, and then on to very opinionated rants without ever losing his voice and signature style of humor. Complete with diagrams and illustrations, many of which are too inappropriate for me to explain further, the book covers a broad range of topics. He also mentions topics and includes that he will return to it later, keeping the reader invested and intrigued.
So if you want to learn how to woo a woman, be a man and live life by the beat of your own handmade drum, then “Paddle Your Own Canoe” is the book for you. The book encourages everyone to just be who they are and be happy with that, and maybe put away the smartphones and go out into nature every once in a while. It’s a simple life that Offerman strives for and I think everyone can learn something from that goal.
