When Keith Ahrens walked into his doctor’s office and complained of lightheadedness, he never imagined the drama awaiting him. Weighing more than 400 pounds and following a no-exercise, eat-whatever lifestyle, Ahrens discovered that he had suffered a heart attack and desperately needed open-heart surgery.

The results of these traumatic events were numerous: dramatic weight loss, an entirely new way of eating, a commitment to exercise, an increased respect for his body…and a highly enlightening book, Outrunning My Shadow: Surviving Open-Heart Surgery and Battling Obesity/The Decision to Change My Life. Page after page, readers are reminded of the importance of regular checkups, as well as healthy eating and sensible exercise. Many books about obesity and new-found health are written as admonitions, warnings that either you follow the text or suffer the consequences. In this book, Ahrens has focused on only the positive, the guilt-free you-can-do-it attitude that so many of us need when faced with drastic change.

The essence of the author’s message is simple: get a checkup, move more today than you did yesterday, make a difference in your own well-being, and take control. www.OutrunningMyShadow.com