Deep Economy is a fascinating look at the needs of the world for happiness, wealth and health. Written by well-traveled christian Bill McKibben, this book is revealing, fascinating and inspiring.

McKibben’s premise revolves around the very obvious truth that more money has not made the developed world more happy. He notes the statistic that wealth only makes us happier up to a per capita income of $10,000/year. Not easily confirmed, and perhaps just a number, but to me as a privileged American living in a very poor community it finally makes sense of the unhappiness I see on both sides of this wealth divide.

So what is true wealth? True wealth is the security of an interconnected life, he argues, in contrast to the hyper-individualism that characterizes much of American life. It is both having enough basic resources to guarantee access to food and health care and little enough resources to guarantee dependence on those around us. Having everything we need isolates us. Not to mention the job it does on the environment and the developing world. For those who are not sure the way we live needs to change in response to global warming and climate change, his section on China must be read.

His words about the real needs of our souls struck a chord: “You could call it the Laura Ingalls Wilder effect . . . . A life rich in family, rich in connection to the natural world, rich in adventure but materially deprived. That one dress, that same bland dinner. At Christmastime,a penny – a penny!! And a stick of candy and the awful deliberation about whether to stretch it out with tiny licks or devour it in an orgy of happy greed. A rag doll was the zenith of aspiration.”

As we think about arriving back in America after this adventure is over, we cringe at the thought of fitting back into a world that we no longer know or understand. We have changed, our American lives must change too. Yet we still value the friends and family and churches that must have changed too, but in their own ways and directions. Arriving home shall also be an adventure.