[Biography] Josh Hanagarne - The Worlds Strongest Librarian [m4b] AudioBooks

The World's Strongest Librarian

At an imposing 6'7' and literally incapable of sitting still, Josh Hanagarne is certainly not your average librarian. He is an aspiring strongman, a bookish nerd, a devoted family man, and a tearer of phone books. A tall, thin paradox in thick glasses.

Born to Mormon parents in rural Utah, Josh was a funny, book-obsessed kid. Large for his age, he was onstage in his elementary school play when he suddenly started twitching uncontrollably. As his Tourette Syndrome symptoms became too drastic to ignore, Josh found his scape in books, daydreaming of Piers Anthony's magical land of Xanth, freaking himself out with Stephen King's Pet Sematary, and falling feverishly in love with Fern from E.B. White's Charlotte's Web.

But after the last page, reality and tics always returned. Desperate for a cure, Josh tired every treatment available, from drugs that left him in a fog to Botox injected directly into his vocal chords to paralyze them, which left voiceless for two years. The results were dismal, and as his tics worsened, the list of causalities grew: his romantic relationships, his Mormon Mission, his college career, countless jobs, and slowly but relentlessly his faith.

It turned out to be weight lifting that provided the most lasting relief, with increasingly intense workouts that helped 'throttle' his tics into submission. Under guidance from an eccentric, autistic strongman and former Air Force Tech Sergeant and prison guard in Iraq Josh quickly went from lifting barbells to rolling up frying pans and bending spikes. What started as a hobby became an entire way of life and an effective way of managing his disorder.

Funny and offbeat, The World's Strongest Librarian traces this unlikely hero as he attempts to overcome his disability, navigate his wavering faith, find love, and create a life worth living.

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