Source: Mountain Peaks
A Mountain Top native who has lived through some formidable challenges in his life has written a book aimed at helping others overcome the obstacles they face in their own lives.
The book, “Victory in Every Fall: The Antaeus Approach to Overcome Disabilities,” written by Kurt Warner, LMSW, was released in October by Kallisti Publishing.
The Crestwood High School graduate suffered traumatic brain injury in 2001 when he was assaulted at a party at Nuangola. As a result of the assault, he had a significant portion of his brain removed, forcing him to re-learn how to walk and talk at age 18.
Warner also has had severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) since age 5, struggled with bipolar disorder since he was a teenager, and debilitating back pain.
Yet, despite all these challenges, the 42-year-old Warner now is a therapist in upstate New York working with individuals to help them overcome their own issues.
“I’m not trying to trumpet what I’ve been through and what I’ve accomplished,” Warner said of his book. “Rather,” he said in a recent interview, ‘it’s about helping people realize that despite what may seem like impossible odds they can make something of themselves.” The book, he related, is about helping people “make their yoke lighter.”
Though his bachelor’s degree from King’s College was in English, Warner felt himself drawn to social work. Having known and felt suffering, he said he developed empathy for others facing similar obstacles.
The title of his book, “Victory in Every Fall: The Antaeus Approach to Overcoming Disabilities,” really is descriptive of the importance of the help it offers to people facing what they may perceive as disabilities in their lives.
In Greek Mythology, Antaeus was a giant who was said to reside in Libya. He was the son of the sea god Poseidon and the Earth goddess Gaea and he compelled all strangers who were passing through the country to wrestle with him. Whenever Antaeus touched the Earth (which was his mother), his strength was renewed, so that even if thrown to the ground, he was invincible.
Warner’s 256-page guide to overcoming life’s greatest challenges, the author explained, is meant to help people like himself gain strength when they’ve been “thrown to the ground.” The book offers readers a groundbreaking approach to resilience: every time life knocks you down, it’s an opportunity to rise stronger than before.
Most readers, he explained, can use this approach to overcome their own obstacles. “I do it every day,” Warner said of his own life. And through his work he has become proficient in helping people become stronger when they have what they consider ‘disabilities.’
“We don’t have to hide our deficits. They are part of the character that builds us,” he offered.
“Kurt Warner’s story is nothing short of transformative,” says Anthony Raymond, CEO of Kallisti Publishing. “His candor about living with OCD, bipolar disorder, severe traumatic brain injury, and chronic pain offers readers more than hope — it provides a blueprint for turning life’s darkest moments into opportunities for growth. We believe this book will profoundly impact anyone struggling to find strength in the face of overwhelming challenges.”
The book is available through major retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and directly from Kallisti Publishing.
