Everybody Always

Everybody Always is the new book by Bob Goff, and I gotta tell you it’s exceptional. Bob had a runaway hit with his first book Love Does, but I worried for my friend because a lot of second books often disappoint. I should have known better — Bob doesn’t do anything halfway, and Everybody Always is fantastic.

Of course, it’s not actually his second book, as he explains at the beginning of the book. His second book is somewhere on a hard drive inside a stolen laptop computer that Bob failed to backup. Oops. But perhaps that’s for the best; the setback probably allowed Bob to refine his ideas and stories for this “third” book.

So, what is Everybody Always about? It’s two dozen chapters about loving people, especially the difficult ones. It’s about modeling Jesus by loving generously, fearlessly, constantly. It’s about loving those who are strong, weak, angry, sad, joyous, and vulnerable. The back of the book describes it as being “driven by Bob’s trademark storytelling.” Exactly right. And that’s a wonderful thing.

A few months ago, D’Aun and I were in San Diego so I sent a text to Bob and asked if we might get together. Sure enough, he shows up for breakfast. As always, we laughed and joked and swapped stories. Most authors have a public persona and a writer’s persona, but for Bob, it’s all the same. A big authentic smile, a zest for life, and a deep love for Jesus emanate from him in person and his books. Reading Everybody Always is like having breakfast with Bob there — laughter, thoughtfulness, joy, even tenderness comes through in his writing.

Just a week ago I let him know I’d be praying for him as he spent time with people going through a difficult time, and his classic response was, “We both go where people need hugs.” That’s Bob, affirming, loving, and generous all at the same time.

And that’s what Everybody Always is all about — going where people need hugs.