Builder's Apprentice: A Memoir

Making a choice to follow your passions is never easy. Turning down an acceptance from Harvard to pursue a blue-collar job is almost unheard of and yet Andy Hoffman convinces us that his choice isn't as foolhardy as it seems and that it is possible to act against conventional wisdom and succeed. Without being overly prescriptive, Andy takes the reader through his personal journey in this honest, narrative of his apprenticeship as a builder. The book chronicles Andy's journey and creates a vivid account of the tribulations that he faces along the way. For avid builders and construction aspirants, the book is full of rich, absorbing details, a clear sign of a craftsman whose eye doesn't miss any details. For those who are unfamiliar with construction the jargon could mildly bewildering at times, causing the temptation to skip a few paragraphs, but the threads of the story are easy to follow and the emotional richness of the characters keeps you engaged. Any unfamiliarity with the building trade is quickly overcome with Andy's detailed accounts of the crew dynamics, building procedures and construction terminology. Before you know it, you start feeling like an insider - even part of the crew! The Builder's Apprentice should not to be dismissed by those uninterested in building. It offers a pillar of support to those trying to make an inspired choice in the face of opposition. Andy's relatively late decision in life to switch careers and start afresh is an uncommon story, one that is reflective of the pressures faced by many recent graduates today. Vaguely reminiscent of Ayn Rand's Fountainhead, The Builder's Apprentice is a quick read that shares a life's choices and offers a rare insight into professional success.

"Live your life for yourself. Not for someone else, at least not for some potential recruiter." "Never trust anyone who toots his own horn...If you walk up to two trash cans and kick 'em, which one makes the most noise?" "I see people who grow up with big dreams about what they are going to do with their lives . . .They start on that path but then realize that those dreams take more commitment, persistence and hard work then they expected. So, they give up... I don want to do that. I want the world to be different because I was here." Just some inspiring tidbits embedded in this engaging story that I'm picking up along the way. There are too many to fit here!

In Builder's Apprentice, Andrew Hoffman offers the reader an exciting, insightful, and deeply personal narrative of his journey as a home builder. Unsatisfied with his desk-job engineering career, he left everything he knew behind in order to follow his heart, and answer a classified ad for a carpenter. The tale follows his progress from untested novice to master builder. It is replete with all the character development, colorful (at times, earthy) dialogue, and pleasurable suspense that one might expect from a seasoned novelist. To frame his memoir, Hoffman draws on parallels between his experience working through the ranks in the home construction industry and a monk's induction into monastic life. Indeed, he titles his chapters according to the milestones of the Benedictine Order. More than merely a career change, the decision to pursue his dream wholly transforms his identity and worldview. Like monastic robes and prayer-beads, Hoffman's Carhartt work-pants and leather tool-belt serve as the raiment of the identity he grew to embody. Through his eyes, the reader is carried through the various stages of building a home. At times the construction site is a battleground: a place of conflict between competing interests and priorities. At other times, it takes on the character of a symphony hall: the acoustically-tuned domain where dozens of hands work in perfect harmony. His prose is at times laden with sensual imagery--I am confident that a more engaging, stimulating description of the process of building a deck does not exist. The relationships he forms with the other characters in this memoir overflow with life and vitality. I recommend this book to anyone interested in carpentry, home construction, and the art of following one's dreams.

A college educated city boy turns down prestigious graduate school and ventures into the construction industry to spin saws and pound nails. He ends up learning a lot more than carpentry. This story includes two apprenticeships, one in the building trades and one in adulthood. Hoffman's love of woodworking and homebuilding comes through loud and clear. He describes vividly the process of turning raw materials into luxury homes, homes so vast and ornate that the workers building them could never even dream to live in them. But to anyone other than a construction devote, these projects form the backdrop to the real story. It is a story of people from different walks of life: a city slick protagonist, absurdly wealthy clients, workers and contractors who cuss, cheat, and expect to get fired, and a seasoned father figure who manages this confluence with charisma and means unspoken. Coming of age in this world, in Jack's world, means learning to lead where trust is scarce and control requires confrontation. The book is well written and conveys the rewards of following a passion over other people's judgment. It suggests that the little voice inside each of us points to more than we can immediately comprehend. In the end, the author completed graduate school and became a university professor. This adventure didn't kill his career, it colored it. I would recommend the book to anyone interested in learning how the high end homebuilding industry works. And for young souls considering their next steps, the narrative offers a degree comfort and a dose of courage.

Builder's Apprentice masterfully advocates for the pursuit of a personally engaging career and provides a vivid glimpse into the world of custom home building. This memoir tells the story of how Andy Hoffman made a decision in 1986 to turn down acceptances to graduate school at Harvard and Berkeley to become a carpenter on Nantucket and, later, a builder of high-end custom homes. As someone who made a similar decision after graduating from college in 2005, I find that this memoir captures the importance of personalizing your career choice, outlines some of the many implications of this decision, and provides a valuable glimpse into a world unfamiliar to most people outside of the industry. Moving from a white-collar engineering job to life on the job site, Andy describes his social standing as it evolves with his new job. As I can attest given my transition from college student to carpenter, people are often mystified or even judgmental when you depart from a typical career track. Andy outlines this social transition through interactions with friends, family, and his former peer group of young professionals and highlights how those relationships change. Though many people's perceptions change and new acquaintances may be quick to pass judgment, many people are supportive and understanding of such a bold and heart-felt decision. By making such a move, Andy was able to employ his outsiders' point of view to gain perspective on the building industry. Whether you have been involved in a building project, are interested in learning about building, or simply curious to understand something new, Andy's in-depth descriptions of building and a job site's inner workings are invaluable. Through a collection of humorous stories, serious analysis of power dynamics, and personal reflections, a dynamic view of the job site emerges. You learn how the design process is viewed from a builder's perspective, how trust is an elusive but invaluable attribute in the building world, and, simply, how a house is constructed. While the imagery of building comes alive, the larger implications of this move in Andy's life become clear. By pursuing something that truly excited him, Andy was able to develop personally and professionally in a way that he couldn't have otherwise. The passion that drove him to try carpentry drove him to excel at his job and form an identity as a builder. Though Andy no longer works as a home-builder, the excitement for building that propelled him twenty years ago continues to drive him as a professor today. As I follow my own career path, it is stories like this one that encourage me to remain active in the pursuit of my dreams and know that if I'm energized by my job and excited about what I'm doing, then good things will happen.