Week 5: Chapter 4 — The Wound

1.Eldredge states plainly: 'Every man carries a wound.' He is not talking about victimhood or self-pity, but about a specific injury to the masculine soul. Does that claim ring true from your observation of men around you, even if it's hard to see in yourself?

2.He describes how the wound typically comes through a boy's father — either through abandonment, harshness, passivity, or simply absence. But he also notes it can come through peers, coaches, or early failures. Can you trace the shape of your wound — what was said or not said, done or not done?

3.Eldredge argues that the wound always carries a message — a lie about who you are. What message did your wound deliver about your identity? (Examples he gives include: 'You are a failure,' 'You are not wanted,' 'You are not a real man.')