The World's Strongest Librarian

 

The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family is basically a collection of stories that make up Josh Hanagarde’s personal life as well as his experiences working as a librarian. Thankfully, these narrations are told with a sharp wit and plenty of insight. We learn quickly that Josh is a life-long bibliophile, which may explain why his memoir is so well written.

Much of this book is devoted to Josh having Tourette's syndrome and its impact on him physically, mentally and emotionally. Josh describes Tourette’s generally as a condition where the person moves and/or vocalizes involuntarily. These sudden occurrences are called tics. Edifyingly, Josh discusses what having Tourette’s feels like. He compares it to the urge to sneeze. The person has to let the tic out to feel any relief from the urge. I gained a better understanding of this condition by reading this memoir.

Josh’s family, the Hanagarnes are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as The Mormon Church. Josh writes about Church doctrine and how it influenced his family. I enjoyed these parts of the book because I love learning about the teachings and practices of world religions.  Interesting enough, he credits the Church for his happy, supportive family life. Saying something positive about church or organized religion is something you don’t always hear in today’s culture. Yet, Josh admits that he is skeptical about Mormonism and struggles with his faith and prayer life.

During a particularly depressing period, Josh’s father introduced him to bodybuilding. Josh would soon realize that lifting weights made him oblivious to his tics and made him feel more in control of his life. Eventually, Josh learned that the harder he trained, the easier life was for him. That included his Tourette’s symptoms too. So, he immersed himself in this form of exercise using primarily kettlebells. In fact, one of my favorite parts of the book is Josh’s story about the time he spent with a militant weight trainer.

What I really like about The World's Strongest Librarian – other than its wonderful humor - is that it doesn’t leave you feeling too sad for too long. Sure, Josh has had his share of difficult times, but he always seems to receives clarity when he needs it. To sum it up, it’s just an interesting book about an interesting life that was delightful to read. I wholehearted thank the person who recommended it. It was exactly the type of book I was in the mood to read.

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