Handcrafted by Clint Harp — A Book Review

The book Handcrafted by Clint Harp is categorized as “Cabinetmakers-United States-Biography. Furniture making-Anecdotes.”

I don’t have a lot of experience reading this genre but every now and then I come across someone’s journey through craftsmanship and enjoy living vicariously through their writing.

In Clint’s first book, we follow his life journey towards where he is today, as a woodworking television star, featured on HGTV’s Fixer Upper and Wood Work.

Initially, I believed the book was little more than a self-promotion manuever. We have a guy who’s risen to stardom, and probably needs to ride the wave a little longer, as we see many celebrities do, and publish a book. Having never seen Clint on TV, there was no personal attachment or personal knowledge of his personality on those shows.

My parents picked up the book for, waited in line for him to sign it, and he included a note that said: “To Matthew- Thx. for teaching the kids!!! [signed]- Clint Harp.” Wanting to be a polite gift recipient, and grateful for anyone who expresses gratitude for what educators do, I decided to give it a read.

And, it took a few pages for me to realize it was more rich than self promotion. Once past that hurdle, it took a few more pages of, “Okay, life story…everyone has one.” Shortly before the halfway point, it became, “Yes, this is so relatable!” The book started as a store-brand white bread, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but shortly transformed to a favorite bakery’s homemade peanut butter & jelly sandwich and fresh-from-the-oven bread. The book takes favorite familiar flavors and resonates them throughout with savory delight.

Clint goes way back into his childhood and spells out a complex life story filled with a crippling level of instability. We watch Clint reflect on that instability and its effect on his strengths and his weaknesses. Clint does an excellent job writing about how his attitude around the unstable events of his life develop. He does a good job of putting the reader in his shoes, but he goes even further; you really end up getting into his head. You can feel yourself experiencing the same growth he was experiencing.

Interestingly, the development of the text moves pretty well along with the development of our main character. I’ve never quite rooted for a character in the way I ended up rooting for Clint as I continued to read of his trials and tribulations. Meaningful lessons are incorporated in the most humble-non-lecture way possible and take-away inspiration is included in every chapter.

One example is his “I’ll figure it out,” attitude. As a frequently insecure “figure-it-outer” myself, I found his take on those scenarios to be uplifting. Following his narrative on his own borderline frightful experiences, gave me a boost of confidence in my own endeavors. There are many specific takeaways, but you’ll have to read it for yourself. This is a spoiler-free post.

He hits a home run for me when he writes, “And I share it not because I think it’s the most amazing story ever (it’s not), but rather because I hope that my experiences might push you forward in yours (they do).” Clint’s mission was accomplished, and it was a far cry from shameless self-promotion. I’ll be passing “Handcrafted” on to the next person, and our local public library for others to enjoy.

Although, now I feel like I may actually have to watch him on TV….

Nah, millennials don’t watch TV… maybe YouTube. We’ll see.