Call Me Chris: A Tale of Healing, Recovery, Selfishness and Resolve

by Chris Akin, Carolyn Debelak (Editor)

What is the most painful way to die? Is it being shot in the face with a shotgun? Getting hit by a bus speeding down a freeway? Plunging off a bridge onto a concrete road? Drowning? Is it actually burning to death? For a lot of people, the thought of burning alive is often considered to be the worst. For Chris Akin, he can tell you unequivocally that burning is the worst. An every day guy with a career as everything from a business owner, soldier, shock jock and even a cremation technician, Chris Akin knows the true pain of burns. Unlike most though, Chris lived to tell about it. Chris Akin is a survivor.

Image: Call Me Chris, author, Chris Akin, Burn Survival

In 1994, Chris Akin survived an industrial accident that very few could. Burned over 69% of his body, Chris was given no chance of survival. In fact, his family was told to make any death arrangements they needed to make and to get themselves prepared for his inevitable death. That death didn’t happen though, but the odds stayed stacked against Chris. Medical experts diagnosed that Chris would have to have amputations, and would never walk normally again. They assumed the worst - another victim of a workplace accident whose life would be irreparably ruined.

But Chris Akin is no victim. He never has been, and he never will be. A survivor with a voracious drive who is never satisfied with a standard, Akin proved doctors, nurses, family and friends wrong as he not only survived a tremendous burn accident, but used it to become a motivated person with a never-ending motor toward every project he attempts.

CALL ME CHRIS: A TALE OF HEALING, RECOVERY, SELFISHNESS AND RESOLVE is the latest book from Chris Akin. Much like his previous work LITTLE VICTORIES, Chris Akin does not shy away from the painful, embarrassing moments of his life. In his latest release, Akin shares his real life experiences as he worked through every aspect of being burned nearly to death. Full of the goriest details and yet told with surprising clarity and emotion, Akin shares all that is involved going through the life-changing experience of being severely burned. This includes accepting deformity, the mental anguish and horror that comes with acceptance, the effects on family and the risks he took while pushing himself to recover. Never one to try to paint himself in a good light, Akin shares the ugliness he exhibited toward family and friends during this time, the selfishness he showcased, and his theory on why he needed to be far from friendly in order to obtain his ultimate goal, which was to return to a “normal” lifestyle. With all it’s blood, pain and suffering combined with determination, drive and razor sharp focus, CALL ME CHRIS showcases just how Chris Akin not only regained normality, but far surpassed anyone’s expectations of what his life would become.

CALL ME CHRIS is the third release from Chris Akin. For more information about Chris Akin and his books, visit him online at www.chrisakinbooks.com.

227 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 17, 2016

About the author

Chris Akin is not the kind of person you would expect to write a book.

Chris Akin is the kind of person you would expect people to write books about.

For over 20 years, Chris Akin has been a larger and louder than life character in the media of one of the countries most major markets – Cleveland, Ohio. Chris has held a myriad of positions in the Cleveland media. He got his start in the media writing for the biggest free music and entertainment magazine in Cleveland – SCENE Magazine. Additionally, he was a regular contributor for magazines such as the short-lived BUZZARD BONE, the online zine BLOGCRITICS and Chicago’s MIDWEST BEAT, to name a few. Never being satisfied, Chris soon decided that he would expand past those projects and start his own magazine. So he started MUSIC’S BOTTOM LINE; a no-bullshit magazine that challenged the Cleveland print medium to keep up as it became the most respected publication for pure music coverage. While the other magazines in town focused on selling advertising, MUSIC’S BOTTOM LINE kept it’s bottom line focused on music.

At the same time, Chris took to the radio to become one of the most acknowledged and feared radio hosts in Cleveland. Hosting THE METAL SHOW on Cleveland’s biggest radio station, 100.7 WMMS and then later at 92.3 WXRK, Chris found incredible success on the strength of testing every boundary that program directors, the FCC and just common decency would allow. Regularly in trouble with station management, but more beloved for their hard hitting style, THE METAL SHOW took the Cleveland Metal Scene by storm for well over a decade. Still, Chris needed more, so he went to the internet where his rebellious ways could go unchallenged, joining THE CLASSIC METAL SHOW and converting the show from a mostly music program to a ferocious, attacking show that had no guilt about anything.

Chris Akin was on top of the world with his radio and written ventures, but when you live that high on success for a lot of years, you generally forget to prepare yourself for any sort of fall whatsoever.

That fall came on June 22nd, 2012 when his wife of over 23 years left him and soon filed for divorce. Unprepared emotionally and completely unable to cope with a failure such as this, Chris quickly spiraled into an out of control depression, considered taking his own life, and through a lot of surprising circumstances, made the decision and found the way to change his life for the better.

LITTLE VICTORIES is the story of a shock jock’s emotional struggles. It’s a real world, raw emotional look at a year that saw not only a shattering divorce, but a rebirth of a person who had spent his whole life raging against everyone, everything and who purposely pushed every button to come off as the most powerful person in any room. It profiles the victories as well as the defeats; some of which are so sickening in emotional scope that they leave you questioning how his friends ever stuck around to see him through the tough times.

…and the friends? They are numerous, highlighted by a group Chris calls “The Core 9″. This collection of 9 friends are who the book is truly about, as these are the people that saw through the blustery public facade of “Chris Akin” and challenged him at every turn to get better.

LITTLE VICTORIES is a definitive story about learning how much you hate things about yourself, and working hard to fix them. It proves that almost any change is possible if you truly want it. It showcases how far you can come, even in the most dire of circumstances. In short, it shows that no matter how bad things get, nothing is final until you quit on making it better. In Chris Akin’s case, he never quit for a second.

Reviews

[Suzy Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m stuck in bed with a bug and I finished this book in less than 24 hrs. I couldn’t put it down. Unbelievable story of courage and determination, gave me a lot to think about.

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Metal Show co-host gives a detailed account of his near death experience after an explosion in a refinery incident. Covered in molten steel he barely survives and goes through a series of surgeries and rehabilitation to recover.