America Becoming: Framing Our Declaration of Interdependence

America Becoming is a thought-provoking book by Lisa C. Uhrik that teaches its readers to create their own Declaration of Interdependence. Uhrik does a fantastic job of using America to illustrate how we as a country have changed over the years and parallels it with human growth and how we as a collaborative effort can mold and shape our futures and therefore, the future of our country. She describes in her book how America is “developmentally analogous” to a human and his/her growth and maturity. She describes how we have influenced and created the habits that we all know today.

Lisa Uhrik has created a model with the acronym READ3 that her readers can use as a guideline for creating their own Declaration. READ3 stands for “Revelation”, “Exploration”, “Action”, and the three “Ds”: Discovery, Dreaming, and Declarations. Not only is the book easy to follow, but Uhrik does a great job of telling the reader why each of these steps is necessary. She uses examples and anecdotes to illustrate how to implement each step. I think the biggest takeaway readers will have from this book is the writing exercises provided in each chapter. These exercises can easily be done solo or as a group effort. Exercises such as diary writing and brainstorming for each category through the use of Uhrik’s writing prompts will help to provoke deeper thought and creativity in the reader.

I found it interesting how Uhrik interjected the history of t.v. shows and music and how it has affected our country. She shows how over time, people have gradually been led to a life of “extreme exploration of faith, live violence, history, sexuality, and identity.” Social media is another subject she touches upon and with the invention of the Internet and smartphones, everyone is taking endless photos. She states that they take these photos because they are “trying to see themselves”. This is the only part of the book I would disagree with as I know many influencers who take the pictures they do for the likes and comments. I even read an article about a girl who said she hates hiking but goes so that she can post a pretty picture on Instagram. To me, that is not her trying to see herself, but rather creating something not real. I feel this is something we should be striving to step away from. America Becoming can perhaps lead us back to reality by helping people understand how to rewire their brains for positivity and gratitude in a more wholesome manner. I would recommend this book for those who are ready to find the truth about themselves as well as understand the perspective of others without projecting their own experiences and biases onto them.