Gut Punch: Waking up from my American Dream

Thomas A. Koehler is a man in his prime when he receives a devastating diagnosis: cancer. With his world turned upside down, he attempts to make peace with what's to come by reflecting on the past.

As he chronicles what everyday life is like with cancer, Koehler finds himself thinking more and more about what it means to live a happy life and how to know if your purpose is right. As he reflects on his past, reliving pivotal moments both good and bad, he learns to truly appreciate all of the experiences that have shaped him thus far. With warmth and hard-earned wisdom, the author lays bare the motivation that drives him to appreciate every second of the time he has.

There are lessons from your own mortality to be learned, and Koehler's thoughtful prose guides readers through it all. Learn how the past helps you appreciate today in order to better understand your purpose and achieve true happiness.

Gut Punch is both a thoughtful, fascinating memoir of an adventurous life and a heart wrenching, philosophical memoir of a cancer diagnosis. This is a wide-ranging manuscript that tackles the biggest questions in life: faith, death, love, and the meaning of success. It is expertly told through these dual stories. One begins with the author's childhood in the rural Midwest and tells of how he worked his way up to become a successful beer industry executive, with many escapades along the way. The other story tells of the "gut punch" for which the manuscript is named. This story begins with a cancer diagnosis, prompting reflections by the author on his own life and mortality, as well as the lessons he has learned through that journey.
-Katya Schwenk, Editor