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Breaking Free: Stop Following Expectations and Start Following Yourself
From social media star and motivational speaker Spencer West, an inspirational guide that shows you how to be the person you were meant to be all along.
After losing both legs from the pelvis down at the age of five, Spencer West tackled challenge after challenge, learning to navigate a world set against those with disabilities. In this deeply personal and transformative guide, he reveals how he stopped living by the expectations of others and instead embraced his true identity, passions, and purpose. Through his powerful storytelling, unrelenting candor, and relatable insights, he shows you the steps (and sometimes missteps) to:
- Identify who you truly are, deep inside
- Discover (or rediscover) your passions and pursue them fearlessly
- Understand the boundlessness of your own power
- Embrace a commitment to living life on your own terms
This is your wake-up call to banish self-imposed limitations, opinions, and expectations and propel yourself into the life you were meant to live.
After losing both legs from the pelvis down at the age of five, Spencer West tackled challenge after challenge, learning to navigate a world set against those with disabilities. In this deeply personal and transformative guide, he reveals how he stopped living by the expectations of others and instead embraced his true identity, passions, and purpose. Through his powerful storytelling, unrelenting candor, and relatable insights, he shows you the steps (and sometimes missteps) to:
- Identify who you truly are, deep inside
- Discover (or rediscover) your passions and pursue them fearlessly
- Understand the boundlessness of your own power
- Embrace a commitment to living life on your own terms
This is your wake-up call to banish self-imposed limitations, opinions, and expectations and propel yourself into the life you were meant to live.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published May 12, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 27, 2026
What an incredible read! Spencer has such a special way of making it seem like this book was written FOR you. It’s a must read.
July 17, 2026
Thank you Penguin Random House/ Hay House LLC and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
Spencer WEST is an inspirational speaker. Spencer was born with sacral agenesis, which resulted in his legs being amputated at five years of age. He also is a gay male born into conversation Wyoming, USA. Spencer mentions both of these facts about his life, not to make excuses but importantly, to exemplify to the reader that these two things were not the things that held him back in life,
Spencer’s book explains how “The Trap” is what holds us back and shows way the path to break free from this trap.
“The Trap” is a situation that causes us distress. A situation that makes us feel stuck and prevents us moving forward, sapping our energy and confidence along the way.
Written in five parts, Breaking Free encourages the reader to learn who they truly are, reignite what brings joy, find courage to follow your passions, understand your power and be authentically you in everyday life.
As he sums beautifully in the quote of Paulo Coelho “ unbecoming everything that isn’t really you”.
When we have the courage to face “The Trap” and honour who we truly, authentically are, life begins to shift. It welcomes us, but first we must shatter the bridges that anchor us to our past and create our new world through the accumulation of regular, little acts.
Spencer’s chapters share stories from his life to show how he has broken free and severed “The Trap”s. He ends each chapter with key concepts and questions to help the reader break free.
I particularly enjoyed the key concepts and questions at the end of each chapter. I did enjoy reading parts about Spencer’s life, although I felt these parts could have been shorter as I began skipping over some of the content to get to the key concepts later in the book.
There is great wisdom in this book and it gives a good guide for the reader who is brave enough and/ or ready to rediscover their hidden self.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I rate it 3.5 stars rounded up.
Spencer WEST is an inspirational speaker. Spencer was born with sacral agenesis, which resulted in his legs being amputated at five years of age. He also is a gay male born into conversation Wyoming, USA. Spencer mentions both of these facts about his life, not to make excuses but importantly, to exemplify to the reader that these two things were not the things that held him back in life,
Spencer’s book explains how “The Trap” is what holds us back and shows way the path to break free from this trap.
“The Trap” is a situation that causes us distress. A situation that makes us feel stuck and prevents us moving forward, sapping our energy and confidence along the way.
Written in five parts, Breaking Free encourages the reader to learn who they truly are, reignite what brings joy, find courage to follow your passions, understand your power and be authentically you in everyday life.
As he sums beautifully in the quote of Paulo Coelho “ unbecoming everything that isn’t really you”.
When we have the courage to face “The Trap” and honour who we truly, authentically are, life begins to shift. It welcomes us, but first we must shatter the bridges that anchor us to our past and create our new world through the accumulation of regular, little acts.
Spencer’s chapters share stories from his life to show how he has broken free and severed “The Trap”s. He ends each chapter with key concepts and questions to help the reader break free.
I particularly enjoyed the key concepts and questions at the end of each chapter. I did enjoy reading parts about Spencer’s life, although I felt these parts could have been shorter as I began skipping over some of the content to get to the key concepts later in the book.
There is great wisdom in this book and it gives a good guide for the reader who is brave enough and/ or ready to rediscover their hidden self.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I rate it 3.5 stars rounded up.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
If you read any self-help book this year, this is it! Spencer is well known on social media and as a public speaker. The book brings you the same humor you'll see from him elsewhere. The book guides you through different areas of your life. It prompts self reflection. It then helps you set goals and expectations to live our life to the fullest! I know there are a lot of books out there that promise to help set your mindset for success and instead is the author rambling about themself. This book is not like that. It is well laid out to both share some of Spencer's experiences while focusing on the reader. I appreciated that about the book.
All of the questions were thought provoking. Each reader will have their own answers depending on where they are in life. I'm sure I'll have different answers if I read this again next year. I've been debating what to do with my job lately. This book's questions forced me to face what the situation really is and consider what it is that gives me the most joy.
My favorite passage from the book is one that really spoke to me. "Each of us has within us someone whose true nature has only just been glimpsed before we, consciously or not, push it behind a curtain. There it stays, sometimes forever, a shadow whose presence we choose to ignore or quiet." So true!! So many people (including me) put ourselves in a box. We present ourselves a certain way because we believe that's what is expected of us. Acknowledging it is the first step to setting yourself free to be who you really are.
I took one star off because some of the stories became repetitive.
*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
All of the questions were thought provoking. Each reader will have their own answers depending on where they are in life. I'm sure I'll have different answers if I read this again next year. I've been debating what to do with my job lately. This book's questions forced me to face what the situation really is and consider what it is that gives me the most joy.
My favorite passage from the book is one that really spoke to me. "Each of us has within us someone whose true nature has only just been glimpsed before we, consciously or not, push it behind a curtain. There it stays, sometimes forever, a shadow whose presence we choose to ignore or quiet." So true!! So many people (including me) put ourselves in a box. We present ourselves a certain way because we believe that's what is expected of us. Acknowledging it is the first step to setting yourself free to be who you really are.
I took one star off because some of the stories became repetitive.
*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
June 2, 2026
I've known Spencer for nearly 20 years, and throughout that time he has been a profound source of inspiration, friendship, and personal growth in my life. What makes Breaking Free so powerful is that it reflects the same qualities I've been fortunate enough to experience firsthand.
It would be easy for someone with Spencer's extraordinary life story to focus on what makes him different. Instead, he uses his experiences to remind us of what connects us. At its core, this book isn't about disability, achievement, or overcoming impossible odds—it's about the universal struggle to live authentically in a world full of expectations.
Spencer has a remarkable ability to make people feel seen, understood, and capable of more than they thought possible. Rather than asking readers to admire his journey from a distance, he invites them to see themselves in it. The result is a book that is honest, vulnerable, practical, and deeply human.
More than anything, I'm excited that the world gets to experience what it's like to have Spencer in their corner. For nearly two decades, I've been lucky enough to know that feeling. Through Breaking Free, countless others will too.
It would be easy for someone with Spencer's extraordinary life story to focus on what makes him different. Instead, he uses his experiences to remind us of what connects us. At its core, this book isn't about disability, achievement, or overcoming impossible odds—it's about the universal struggle to live authentically in a world full of expectations.
Spencer has a remarkable ability to make people feel seen, understood, and capable of more than they thought possible. Rather than asking readers to admire his journey from a distance, he invites them to see themselves in it. The result is a book that is honest, vulnerable, practical, and deeply human.
More than anything, I'm excited that the world gets to experience what it's like to have Spencer in their corner. For nearly two decades, I've been lucky enough to know that feeling. Through Breaking Free, countless others will too.
July 11, 2026
I found this book extremely relatable even though I don’t have a lot in common with this author. What I found the most inspiring wasn’t his struggles with his sexuality or disability—not to take anything away from these very real issues. But what moved me to tears was his willingness to discuss his anxieties and insecurities. His story of being derailed for a while by one negative comment even in the face of triumph really resonated with me. This book helped me feel that you can change your life and your attitude. I read the audio version—he is, in fact, a wonderful speaker and also very funny.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book is a self help book without being preachy or giving you how to. It gives you the oportunity for self-reflection and makes you think about different parts of your life.
The author manages to write with a great sense of humor, while reflecting on his own life and talking about opportunities he used to grow. He asks questions in every chapters you can use to reflect about your own life.
Some stories in the book are used multiple times and do become repetitive.
I recived an ARC copy of the book trough NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The author manages to write with a great sense of humor, while reflecting on his own life and talking about opportunities he used to grow. He asks questions in every chapters you can use to reflect about your own life.
Some stories in the book are used multiple times and do become repetitive.
I recived an ARC copy of the book trough NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 12, 2026
Great book it helped me a lot
June 17, 2026
An absolutely incredible book from an incredible man. Part memoir, part self help, Breaking Free meets readers where they are at, providing actionable steps to apply to their lives.
June 30, 2026
This is a great book that shares your own experience of listening to your own heart & creating life defined by authenticity.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews