Bring The Mess That Made Them to Your Book Club
The Mess That Made Them publishes September 3, 2026. If your group is considering it for a future read, this page includes discussion materials, visit information, and ordering details. When you’re ready, you can order through your preferred retailer or through Bookshop.org, my preferred online retailer.
Book Clubs
This page is designed for book club organizers considering the book for a future selection.
Hardcover | 221 pages | Narrative nonfiction, biography, and cultural history | eBook and audiobook coming soon
The Mess That Made Them was written for conversation. Through the lives of artists, writers, and composers, it explores ambition, failure, reinvention, and the long uneven process of trying to make something that lasts. It asks what persistence really looks like when a life gets messy, a career stalls, or the story the world tells about success stops making sense.
What Book Clubs Can Expect
A reading and discussion guide with questions designed to spark honest and energizing conversation
A behind the scenes author note about how the book came together
The chance to schedule Ryan for a virtual or in person visit with your club
A taste of the discussion
The full guide includes questions, context notes, and prompts for reflection. Here are a few samples:
How does the book change the way you think about what it means to begin late, begin uncertain, or begin anyway?
Several chapters lean into contradiction rather than resolving it. What does that reveal about how we tell stories of success and failure?
Which figure’s story stayed with you most, and why? Did it shift how you think about survival, persistence, or meaning?
The full guide will be sent once you fill out the form below.
How to get started
If your club is seriously considering The Mess That Made Them, fill out the form below and I’ll send the discussion guide and follow up about visit requests. If your club is planning around a specific date, mention that in the form so I can prioritize accordingly. In-person visits can usually be arranged for clubs within 150 miles of Omaha, Nebraska.
Let’s talk
Book clubs are the heart of how this book will live in the world. If your group is ready for a conversation that is layered, encouraging, and surprising, I would love to be part of it.