Simply Amazing: Special Author’s Edition - Softcover

Armstrong, K.C.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1796033502 ISBN 13: 9781796033502

Publisher: Xlibris US, 2019

Synopsis

Simply Amazing is a collection of uplifting stories of overcoming life’s greatest obstacles. KC Armstrong begins the book with the heart-wrenching story of his tormented years after leaving the Howard Stern Show and then his transformation to a life of hope and service to others. He shares twelve favorite interviews from his WMAP radio station of people who’ve also overcome tremendous challenges to find their true life callings. This is a great feel-good antidote for turbulent times and an upbeat gift for any occasion.

About this title

About the Author:

KC Armstrong, former cast member of the Howard Stern Show, has done a 180 degree turn with his life. He is now the proud founder and CEO of WMAP Radio, a station dedicated to inspiring and celebrating the triumph of human spirit over adversity. He interviews people who have faced incredible hardships only to become greater versions of themselves in the process, sharing their stories from the first-person perspective. KC's internet/FM station, WMAP Radio ("World's Most Amazing People" www.wmapradio.com) is heard 24/7 in 94 countries, is in national syndication, and expands its listenership daily. Simply Amazing is Mr. Armstrong's debut book and has confirmed his belief that people today are tired of bad news and instead crave inspiration and examples of courage and leadership. In its first printing, Simply Amazing hit the charts within 2 days of pre-order availability.

Review:

Simply Amazing by K. C. Armstrong
©2019 All Rights Reserved * The US Review of Books
book review by Carol Anderson, D.Min., ACSW, LMSW
"The difference between a common person and a truly amazing one is in learning, growing, accepting, and changing what we can."

In this work of twelve stories, Armstrong's book begins with a foreword by David Arquette and then a prologue in which the author discusses the need for story as he interviews twelve extraordinary people on his radio show. The introduction discusses the author's story of college and football at Western Kentucky, working for Howard Stern, getting fired, becoming homeless, drinking heavily, and being on the verge of death. He then talks about getting his life together and developing his radio program as the CEO of WMAP Radio ("World's Most Amazing People"). In the twelve interviews, he relates with his interviewees about the trauma they have all gone through and the healing that has taken place through their connections with hope and love which have transcended the positive outcomes of businesses and their personal lives.

These stories provide the reader with a variety of tales of growth and transformation, often with a focus on the power of love, faith, and God. All of the stories express the essence of a higher consciousness of acceptance and strength. From the concentration camp survivor to the woman who survived child abuse and mental illness and from the woman who attempted suicide to the man who survived growing up in the projects with drugs and violence, each story is an uplifting message of spirit and soul. With the author's own struggles and his movement from surviving to thriving, he knows how to relate professionally and personally with these people. Similar to volumes in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series but told in interview style, this book may become a major player in the self-help genre.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review

Pacific Book Review (Star Awarded to Books of Excellent Merit)A man who has seen life from the top to the bottom interviews heroic people who have, like him, survived life's storms and seeks to inspire others by recounting their experiences. Author K. C. Armstrong gained reflected fame as a cast member for the widely broadcasted, often controversial Howard Stern Show. Fired, without apparent acrimony, Armstrong fell into a morass of self-destructive behavior induced by his alcoholism, which he describes in stark detail in the introduction to this collection. Finally forced to stop drinking or die, he began to rebuild his life and started his own internet/FM radio station, WMAP (World's Most Amazing People). Simply Amazing comprises a dozen gently edited interview transcriptions. The subjects of these talks with Armstrong are not the most well known names, nor are they people who always had it easy in achieving their life goals. On the contrary, they are people who did not expect to succeed, who were abused, poor, and in one case, literally tortured, yet managed to rise above circumstance to live exemplary lives. The opening interviewee is Werner Reich, a Jew who survived the worst torments of Nazi Germany including internment in Auschwitz; Werner's advice, by which he has tried to live his life, is "be nice." Tom Butts rose from obscurity to become the owner of a large equipment rental company, realizing that his willingness to work and his positive treatment of his employees were essential keys to business success. Author and speaker Jenny Maher, wheelchair-bound victim of child abuse, has garnered a following through her belief in perseverance. Doug Herald was a poor farm boy whose spiritual outlook resulted in a "business ministry." Jeanne Beard, parent of an autistic child, enheartens others through her self-created National Autism Academy. Lito Mason grew up in the projects; his father was beaten to death by police; yet Lito now dedicates himself to "climbing little mountains" in a give-back project dedicated to helping inner city kids. Artist and performer Laurene Hope overcame mental illness and strives to help others with her project, Moving On TV. Dr Elizabeth Rodger courageously founded an emergency clinic for animals in Alaska. Cancer survivor Daniella Cipittelli was determined to "be a messenger" for other sufferers. Another cancer victim, Shannon Knight, encourages people to seek treatments, however unconventional, that work best for them. Peter Gantner whose business life began as a child selling tomatoes by the roadside, started Kula Brands, a business conglomerate assisting individual inventors and entrepreneurs to work together for a common cause. One highly emotive encounter is Armstrong's talk with his mother, Virginia, who went to Africa to teach children and had a life-changing (and almost life-ending) experience climbing Mt Kilimanjaro. In this as in all the interview scenarios, K. C. makes himself a part of the story by evincing empathy, encouragement and admiration towards those with whom he is communicating. Readers who thrive on spiritually inspirational, hard-scrabble, tough as nails success sagas, especially those featuring people "just like me," will cherish Armstrong's collection and hope for further volumes. 

About this edition

• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1796033502
• ISBN 13: 9781796033502
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 340