Book Review: True Strength by Kevin Sorbo (Four Stars)

Book Review: True Strength: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life by Kevin Sorbo (Four Stars)

“When I got back to LA I was booked into a six-week Action Hero Boot Camp, and the rest, as they say, is history—with a little mythology thrown in.”

Well-told story of Sorbo’s largely unknown with aneurysm, blood clots, and stroke which nearly killed him while portraying demi-gods and science fiction heroes to the world. Straight-forward prose and transparency lift this autobiography above the norm. Written in 2011.

“Huizenga’s evening assurances of being on track to finding the problem only seemed to emphasize the fact that no one knew what was wrong with me.”

Sorbo allows other voices to tell parts of his story, adding depth and perspective. (He kept watching TV even amid the headaches. Would have thought the flashing images would make them worse.)

“‘Norwegian! Your name ends with a f-ing vowel! You’re a f-ing Italian!’ [said Joe Pesci.] We’ve been friends ever since.”

Sorbo is something of a straight arrow among the hedonists of Hollywood. Even before arriving in tinsel town, he eschewed drugs, smoking, and the alternate lifestyles often associated with modeling and acting. Despite being a clean liver, at thirty-eight Sorbo was struck by an aneurysm which triggered blood clots in his left arm and brain—resulting in almost losing the arm and three micro-strokes. Yet he tried to continue his career, marry, and have children.

“Thinking positive things when your health is absolutely tanking is difficult. You become self-absorbed: my vanished past, my lost future. I was clinically depressed, for sure, if that counts as good reason.”

How did he do it? Read the book.

“The unforgiving industry equates dropping out of a show to a betrayal, and I equate my career with my life. The fact that we’re both wrong is irrelevant.”