First, I want to thank Tim Kaufman and FatManRants, LLC for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.
WOW!! Tim Kaufman is incredibly brave to open up, pouring out all of his raw emotions in his new Memoir Escape Breaking Free From A Self-Made Prison. It is a very powerful read with a lot of life very important lessons weaved in. If you read any Memoir this year this is the one you need to read! It is a must read that needs to be put up there on your TBR shelf.
Erin Devantier, Carl Aery, and Jannine Elder all need to be commended for their incredible job with the cover! Their cover design and photo speaks volumes even before you start reading the book.
I have read many dedications in my book reviewing career however none of them have been written quite as beautiful as Tim’s was. It was written from his heart directly to his readers.
Tim has some very prominent people (Robert Cheeke, NY Times Best Selling Co-Author of The Plant Based Athlete and Nina Messinger, Vegan Activist and Founder of The H.O.P.E Project) that have shared their reviews of Escape in the book.
Tim makes it very clear in many of his chapters that he is not a writer. However, I found this book very beautifully written straight from his heart and it showed. One reason for writing this book was to let his readers know that change is possible and to give hope to those who seek it.
As a fellow WNYer I enjoyed reading about Tim and what his childhood was like.
I had a big Koolaid grin on my face when I read the chapter on how Tim asked Heather out on a date for the first time! It was the sweetest ever! Later only to chuckle at how he proposed to her!
Heather and I are quite alike in that we both like a good bargain! I too am a coupon clipper and a bargain shopper!
In Escape Tim educates us about his EDS Ehlers Danalos Syndrome and by this he brings awareness to his Syndrome. He also walks you through how he was diagnosed and how it has affected his life.
Tim hit the nail on the head when he talked about chronic pain and how it is not just physical but emotional as well. I too suffer from chronic pain from debilitating migraines and scoliosis. For Tim his escape from the pain was food, alcohol and drugs. For me it is escaping reality in a book.
I loved getting to know Heather’s Mom aka Mom B through Tim. She seemed like a great woman who was a great cook. I loved that she would put everyone’s needs before her own! My heart broke upon learning she had Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Lymphoma.
Once again my heart broke learning about Tim’s Dad having stage 4 Renal Cancer. I just wanted to hop into the book and give both Tim and Heather a big hug.
Tim discussed going down the route of Bariatric Surgery and I am glad he didn’t go down that route. Where it may help some people like myself (I had the surgery in 2004 and weighed 303lbs and now 140lbs). That surgery is not for everyone and had a chance to do it all over again I would have picked a different route.
I was blown away by all of all the ups and downs that Tim went through to get to where he is today! Not only his weight but the steps he took to get there! If you know Tim you know all he has achieved in his athletic adventures! It blew my mind reading how it was in the beginning. He definitely has come a long way.
It made me smile when I read that his son Jesse took a likening to hiking and would join him once in a while. Plus, he would go on small hikes with his daughter.
Tim shares many inspirational stories in Escape. He also invites his readers to check out his website fatmanrants.com and gives you a QR Code to scan. There is also a link that will take you to see pictures of his journey.
Reading Escape motivated me to revamp my nutrition, weight loss, and fitness goals. If he can do it, so can I.
