Simply Amazing

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, and 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 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.

- Pacific Book Review

"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

In Simply Amazing, K. C. Armstrong, CEO of WMAP Radio, offers stories of 12 people who have overcome obstacles to contribute to society. The book is comprised of edited interview transcripts from Armstrong’s radio show, The World’s Most Amazing People, about “people who can encourage us to rise above pain and misfortune.”

Armstrong, once a cast member of the Howard Stern Show, prefaces his book with an account of his own downward slide into alcoholism and homelessness. His health was ruined. He had been hospitalized 53 times, and his pancreas was mostly calcified. When he finally turned his life around, Armstrong wanted to do something to leave the world a “place better than [he] found it.” This, he says, was the raison d’être for his book.

Among the profiles here are the stories of entrepreneurs, cancer survivors, an Auschwitz survivor, the mother of an autistic child, and the author’s mother, who nearly died climbing Kilimanjaro. Some went on to write books or establish organizations to help others experiencing the difficulties they overcame. For instance, Jeanne Beard, who struggled to raise an autistic son, established the National Autism Academy. Jenny Maher, whose attempted suicide left her a quadriplegic, published two books: Never Give Up and Finding Faith in Darkness.

Readers will be inspired and encouraged by the underlying messages of persistence against adversity and the importance of taking a strong moral stance. “When it comes to another person’s safety or well-being,” states Werner Reich, Holocaust survivor, “jump up. Be the first to help.”

A few issues create minor distractions: In his introductions, Armstrong sometimes overhypes the interviews, noting, for example, that his mother “died at Uhuru Peak” on Kilimanjaro when her account indicates only that she was near death. In addition, Armstrong’s judgment in including the founder of a company Armstrong is associated with (Kulabrands) is questionable.

Nonetheless, Simply Amazing introduces readers to an array of interesting people whose authentic voices are worthy of an audience.

Also available in hardcover and ebook.

- BlueInk Review

The interviews of Simply Amazing catalog the struggles and accomplishments of twelve phenomenal people, captured well because of well-thought-out questions.
Radio personality K. C. Armstrong collects twelve inspiring interviews with extraordinary people in his book Simply Amazing.

Previously an interviewer on the Howard Stern show, Armstrong hosts an online series, World’s Most Amazing People. This book includes the transcripts of twelve interviews from that show, each with a person who experienced a life-changing event or succeeded against the odds, pushing through difficult circumstances with faith that perseverance would lead to success. Beyond these themes, the interviews encompass a wide variety of topics, including climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and personal challenges, each explored through the minutiae of the individual’s ordeal. The information that arises spans the breadth of human experiences, and each interview is thick with specifics.

Subjects include Werner Reich, a Holocaust survivor who shares his experiences with eloquence and wisdom, discussing the brutality of concentration camps, what he learned about human nature, and how he carried on after the war. His story is motivating and educational. Another subject, Jenny Maher, became a quadriplegic after an attempted suicide. She shares the events that led up to the incident and discusses how she copes now. This and other interviews seek the roots of mental illness in an investigative yet gentle manner. Elizabeth Rodger, who opened a veterinary clinic in Alaska, responds to thoughtful questions and shows how animals communicate that they’re in pain—and what she’s learned about people by working with animals.

The interviews are fascinating. Armstrong asks probing questions, and those inquiries flow well together. Interviewees express themselves without interruptions or arguments, and follow-up questions draw out the intricacies of their stories. Delicate subjects are approached with sensitivity. Whether they focus on autism behaviors and treatments, what it’s like to be raised in a violent neighborhood, or the reverberations of a sexual assault, the exchanges are professional.

An autobiographical introduction focuses on Armstrong’s health, rather than clarifying the purpose of the book, and its self-deprecating humor is off-putting. Brief introductions precede each interview, providing background on the focal individual and contextualizing the circumstances of their discussions, but they are superficial forwarded glances, focused most on praising the subjects. There is little wrap-up to unite the interviews as a whole, though there is a peek ahead to a coming title.

The interviews of Simply Amazing catalog the struggles and accomplishments of twelve phenomenal people, captured well because of well-thought-out questions.

AIMEE JODOIN (September 5, 2019)

- Foreword Reviews

A radio host offers inspiring interviews in this debut motivational collection.

Former Howard Stern Show staffer and on-air personality Armstrong has led an unusual life to say the least. After he was fired from the Stern show, he was temporarily homeless in California, and he has long struggled with alcoholism, mental illness, and a case of pancreatitis that has drastically shortened his life expectancy. Even so, the author is the founder of WMAP (World’s Most Amazing People) Radio, and he has made it his mission to bring inspirational stories to both listeners and readers. The 12 interviews collected in this volume introduce 12 people with remarkable tales. There’s Werner Reich, a Holocaust survivor imprisoned in two concentration camps, who now gives talks on the subject. Jenny Maher was paralyzed from the neck down following a suicide attempt. She now works as a suicide-prevention author and activist. Jeanne Beard drew on her experiences raising a son with Asperger’s to found the National Autism Academy. Dr. Elizabeth Rodger established a veterinary clinic in an underserved area in Alaska. Armstrong is a capable interviewer, mostly keeping out of his guests’ ways as they tell their stories. His own tale, which appears in the introduction, is quite affecting and tragic, though he shares it with self-deprecating humor: “Yes, I was homeless, but I was HOMELESS IN CALIFORNIA. Do you know in Southern California, it is around seventy degrees every day, and it rains maybe three times a year? Nice!” All of the interview subjects have been knocked around by life in some way, and all have managed to turn their misfortunes into fuel for societal improvement. This is Armstrong’s goal as well, and he achieves it in a way that is endearingly relatable. His interview with his mother, a retired schoolteacher who had a near-death experience on Mount Kilimanjaro, perhaps typifies the feel of the book: familiar, slightly idiosyncratic, and by turns hokey and unexpectedly moving. “Take care of yourself. Take care of your loved ones,” she tells her son. “We all have a story and wisdom to share.”

An engaging, guileless, and feel-good assemblage of interviews that finds redemption even in the midst of heartache.

- Kirkus Reviews