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Start giftingThe World’s Strongest Librarian
A Memoir of Tourette’s, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family
Narrator
Stephen R. Thorne
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
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Length
8 hours 34 minutes
Language
English
At first glance, Josh Hanagarne seems an improbable librarian. He stands 6’7”, competes in strongman contests, and was diagnosed in high school with Tourette’s syndrome. But books are his first love—Josh’s earliest memories involve fantastic adventures between the pages of Gulliver’s Travels and a passionate infatuation with Fern from Charlotte’s Web. Everything in Josh’s life—from his Mormon upbringing, to finally finding love, to learning to control his tics through lifting—circles back to a close connection with books. Today, Josh is a librarian at the Salt Lake City Public Library, founder of a popular blog about books and weight lifting—and the proud father of four-year-old Max, who has already started to show his own symptoms of Tourette’s.
The World’s Strongest Librarian illuminates the mysteries of this little-understood disorder as well as the very different worlds of strongman training and modern libraries. With humor and candor, this unlikely hero traces his journey to overcome his disability, navigate his wavering Mormon faith, spread the word about the wonder of books, and ultimately, find love and create a life worth living.
Josh Hanagarne believes in curiosity, questions, and strength, and that things are never so bad that they can’t improve. He is a librarian at the Salt Lake City Public Library and lives with his wife, Janette, and their son, Max, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Stephen R. Thorne, winner of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards for narration, is a professional actor and member of the resident acting company at Providence’s esteemed Trinity Repertory Company, where he has played Hamlet, Henry V, and Tom Joad.
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Reviews
“A sumptuous read, as funny, erudite, and energizing as a chat with a conversational intellectual, as engrossing and moving as a medical detective drama…The book leaves all of us who’ve read it feeling a little stronger and brighter ourselves.”
“A truly interesting, engaging, and fascinating memoir.”
“Wildly quirky memoir of facing down his ferocious Tourette’s tics…Hanagarne’s account manages to be very gag-full and tongue-in-cheek…highly engaging…Reconciled with Tourette’s, Hanagarne never let the disease get the upper hand.”
“Throughout, Thorne reflects Hanagarne’s droll wit—a coping mechanism for his Tourette’s syndrome and life in general. With his optimistic and irreverent attitude, Hanagarne’s experiences may be interesting to Tourette’s sufferers and to others dealing with difficult personal problems.”
“Josh Hanagarne is a remarkable man…In this moving memoir, Hanagarne shows his readers what it is like to live with a severe form of Tourette’s and how, with patience, love, and support from his family, he was able to build a rich, full life. Throughout, his optimism and amusing, self-deprecating sense of humor shine through. An excellent and uplifting story on accepting and coping with lifelong disabilities.”
“Forthright, affecting, and sometimes surprisingly funny.”
“Josh Hanagarne has an astonishing story to tell, and he does so with insight, humor, grace, and wonder. All human beings suffer and struggle. Through the lens of his own miraculous experiences, Mr. Hanagarne illuminates the path to joy and the infinite possibilities of transcendence.”
“As a gym rat myself, I can attest to the power of hurling one’s sinews against heavy stuff that keeps wanting to slam you back into the floor. The difference with Josh Hanagarne is he has lifted much weightier impediments—Tourette’s, loneliness, geekitude, and the calling to be a writer. That he is, and a talent to savor, to emulate, and to be inspired by.”
“Just like the library has every funny, beautiful, moving, wise story you’d ever need in it, so too does this book. This is not just your ordinary memoir: it is a soaring, inspiring elegy to the small and big miracles of parenthood and friendship and marriage and how they triumph over the not so small challenges of life. It is a perfect, perfect gem of a read, unputdownable, unforgettable, unmatchable.”
“Josh Hanagarne inspires in his pursuit to break the shackles of Tourette Syndrome and live his life to the fullest, as a husband, a father, and a librarian. Insightful, heart-wrenching, and delightfully humorous, The World’s Strongest Librarian is a triumph!”
“Josh’s special struggles to deal with his own doubts, Tourette’s, and society give his journey a patina of honesty, resilience, and a flavor of humanity that truly inspires. Josh has a unique voice, and I was privileged to read and be empowered by his story.”
“A funny, profound, emotionally generous, and wonderfully human story.”
“Everything about this book is big…I found it impossible to put down; save a day to read this.”
“Josh Hanagarne is a giant of a man and a giant of a writer…This guy is the real freaking deal in a very fresh and exciting way.”
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