Description
Discount codes:
1. family4 (10% off when ordering 4 copies)
2. family8 (15% off purchasing seven copies)
3. family10 (20% off purchasing ten or more copies)
When I enlisted in the Unites States Army on November 13th 2012, I was desperate for change. I had enough of making excuses for myself. I had enough of letting down the people I loved, and I had enough of wondering what it would be like to follow my dream to become a soldier. I wasn’t sure the military would be everything I hoped it would be, but what I was sure of was that from that moment forward my life would mean something. I was prepared to give my life for my country, for my family and everyone who hadn’t given up on me when I had given up on myself.
Three and a half years later, I was medically discharged after an injury I sustained to my spine in Slovakia and in the matter of a few months my military career was over. I was devastated. Three back surgeries later, I am in a place where I can reflect on my experience and the important things I have learned. It took me a long time to realize that life truly is the ultimate team sport: you can’t go through it alone. But once I realized this, it was life changing, and this book shares my journey to becoming a man I could be proud of while living a life to make a difference. These reflections are just a fraction of my journey but they come from the deepest depths of my heart and soul, and drastically altered the course of my life.
In this book, I will share with you the true value of self-reflection and understanding. I will take you on my authentic journey from a spoiled rich kid to becoming a United States soldier and share with you all of the incredible people who have helped me along the way. Each chapter of this book shares with you someone who has guided me along my journey. Each chapter shares lessons and reflections that I have carried with me throughout my life.
I hope this book adds inspiration and perspective to the way you live and appreciation for those who have helped you along your journey in life.
Jack Grobelny –
One of the most powerful books you’ll ever read. Tim narrates his life, motives, and feelings through what will bring you to tears. Tim does a fantastic job on describing his real-life thoughts and emotions when struggles or failure would come his way. This book inspires you to be a better you, and will leave a touch on your heart for every page you turn.
Christopher J. –
This is a great book to help you appreciate the people closest to you in life. Tim Natale walks the reader through fun, easy to read stories with powerful lessons he learned from his family and friends. We all have people who shape us and help us along, and after reading this book you will have a new found appreciation for the people who look out for you. I recommend it to everyone!
Catherine –
An uplifting book of great stories and lessons learned throughout Tim’s life. He takes you on a journey of challenges, lessons and maturing, all uniquely shaped from family and friends in his life. A great reminder of the importance of those teaching you in your own life and how you can also help teach others too. This would be an especially good read for teens and young adults as they navigate the difficulties along their own life. Tim has good insights and unique experiences that can help many people along their life journey. I highly recommend!!
The little doh –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Here’s to knowing who you are and liking that person
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2018
Format: Paperback
Do you ever feel stuck or like you can’t catch a break? Are you a victim of circumstance? What matters to you? Can you make a difference? Do you like who you see when you look in the mirror? This is a great book by a very talented first time author.
The first part of this book consists of poignant and funny personal stories and anecdotes about the author growing up and what/who contributed to shaping and molding him throughout his rocky road toward adulthood.
The second part of this book leans toward self-help. The author provides personal stories and examples that can help readers gain perspective and inspiration toward personal growth and success. In simple, honest, and direct terms, the author challenges readers to work through roadblocks in life and provides the tools to do so. The author’s relatable, and, at times, incredible personal accounts show readers that it’s never the wrong time to do something right. And that life is simpler and more rewarding when you accept personal responsibility.
I’ve often heard the adage, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying”; Maintaining is not enough. This book is an easy-to-read, inspiring, and life-changing book that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading. I can see it appealing to both young and old readers seeking an easy, entertaining read with a simple message that can make all the difference in a complex world. Add in some comic relief, encouragement, and a serious dose of reality, and you’ve got a successful memoir for this first time, passionate author with a huge heart.
Dr. Jean ND –
Natale’s honest and humble tale is deeply inspiring as he describes his maturity from a somewhat indifferent college student to a loyal and brave young soldier willing to risk his life to help others. His story continues beyond his military career, and he talks about how he keeps on seeking ways to help other people who come into his life. Natale tells personal, heartfelt and often humorous stories of the many individuals to whom he is grateful as they helped him grow to be a man for others. The book has a well-designed and descriptive cover and almost thirty short, easy-to-read chapters which make it hard to put the book down.
I love Natale’s story and read it in the course of 24 hours. My fifteen-year-old son also loves it and finds it inspirational and relatable. I bought nine copies for his friends because I believe they will also benefit from learning that the struggles, humility, and pain Natale experienced are worth it to grow into a man who lives to help and serve other people. Outstanding true story! Highly recommended. Buy the book for yourself and the young people in your life. You’ll be happy you did!
Boni Sodermark –
This is a book on self-awareness.
Tim Natale is an ambitious young army veteran who demanded much of himself. Yet he got laid off because of a spinal injury. This injury put paid to his dreams of becoming a pilot, but it did provide him with a chance of becoming an author. This book is his interesting and very readable debut.
In this book,Tim Natale tells the story of his life and describes how the person he is today (the man in the mirror) was formed by the influence of a handful of well chosen people who enriched his life and widened his horizons. He recalls their contributions to his life as he delves into incidents and challenges that he and they shared together and emerged victorious on an existential level. This book is his offering of thanksgiving to those beautiful souls who touched and illuminated his existence and enthused him to be the best person he could be at any point of time. This source of inspiration was the wellspring from which arose the writing of this book. In doing so, he fulfilled one of his childhood dreams of becoming a published author.
“When I look in the mirror now, I don’t just see myself, I see the people who taught me to be a man, I began to take on and try to copy the characteristics and traits that I admired in them…My greatest fear growing up and to this very day, is letting down the people who relied on and believed in me…I wish to share with you some of the lessons from the people I’ve met so far in my life and how they have helped me build the man in the mirror”.
Not surprisingly, the first people of this closely knit Italian family to figure in the list of those that have influenced him most, are his immediate family. He starts with his father, who exhorted him to look at “the man in the mirror” to be the best person he could possibly be and in doing so, “make a difference in the world.” This is followed by a chapter on his mother, who kept him “level-headed”, reminding him that “he couldn’t always go it alone”. The next to come are his most beloved always smiling paternal grandfather and his “fireball” of a grandmother. These are followed by his two brothers. First, his difficult relation with his mentally challenged older brother, Nick.This is followed by his younger brother, Dominic to whom he “looks up to” because of his authentic nature.
Others that find mention in this book are his uncles Carl and Gregor, his aunt Lulu and his cousins Matt, Michael, Emily and Rachel. Among his friends, he mentions Michael Hayslip, Ryan, Shone and Matt Dipasqua and his neighbour Chris. All these people have made an impact on the author because of their exceptional qualities.
Others outside Tim Natale’s circle of family and friends that have left an imprint on his soul include his principal from school who went beyond the bounds of duty to bring out the best in him. The list of people who have touched Tim Natale is augmented by a few people from the military, two of whom have passed on. This book has been dedicated to their memory.
Making a list of all that Tim learnt from his extended spiritual and emotional family is outside the scope of this review, apart from being the ultimate spoiler. Suffice it to say that one major lesson that I personally took with me from this book is that we are all connected, and if we focus on the best within each of us, while also accepting that nobody is perfect, we can all come together in harmony and create miracles through team spirit. As Tim Natale puts it “Life is the ultimate team spirit, and it took a long time to figure that out, but I did and I hope, through this book, I was able to share it with you”.
All in all, a very readable book, a book to make you think and introspect in a new way.
Warmly recommended.
Jaunita K Eaton Hall –
recommended (insisted) by a friend.
Rose Heathcote –
Love this book and thanks for inspiration!
Verified Amazon Customer –
Excellent. Touching. Heart warming. Real.
Verified Amazon Customer –
great book! great person I had Tim as a football coach he was a great role model
Brie –
Tim and I went to the same high school and we became better friends because of this book. This book is an honest, heartfelt and incredible story of a boy’s journey into manhood through the power of introspection and reflection of himself and the role his family, friends, faith and teachers have played in his growth. Tim’s words express how he found clarity amid the chaos of young adulthood and that he accepts the challenge of adversity and his ability to growth through it.
timothynataleauthor –
Thank you Brie!!