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What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO
Far more than a "business memoir," What Are the Odds? is a raw, authentic account by a man many thought would never rise above his serial, addiction-fueled failures. Mike's gripping narrative transports readers from his small-town tavern with its colorful cast of "Regulars" to Mexico and a drug deal gone awry. From Las Vegas casinos, where Mike won and lost fortunes as a professional gambler, to a jail-cell beat down. From failed rehabs to his 20-year marriage, an ideal union decimated by addiction. And finally, to the redemption of the most shameful moment of his life.
An unvarnished account of the ravages of cocaine, crack, and gambling addiction, What Are the Odds? tells the improbable tale of how a small-town guy with a dream somehow made it a reality. More importantly, Mike opens up about the God who relentlessly chased him down, turning him from a casual believer to a passionate evangelist with an absolute, mathematical certainty that God is real.
What Are the Odds? will not only speak to entrepreneurs and those struggling with addiction, but also to anyone looking for a message of hope.
Digital download edition available on author's website.
An unvarnished account of the ravages of cocaine, crack, and gambling addiction, What Are the Odds? tells the improbable tale of how a small-town guy with a dream somehow made it a reality. More importantly, Mike opens up about the God who relentlessly chased him down, turning him from a casual believer to a passionate evangelist with an absolute, mathematical certainty that God is real.
What Are the Odds? will not only speak to entrepreneurs and those struggling with addiction, but also to anyone looking for a message of hope.
Digital download edition available on author's website.
325 pages, Paperback
First published December 27, 2019
355 people are currently reading
1131 people want to read
About the author
Mike Lindell
5 books49 followersMike Lindell is the author of What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO. A raw, authentic memoir revealing his battles with crack cocaine and gambling addictions, hardship and failure that he struggled with for decades all while pursuing his entrepreneurial journey.
Lindell is also the inventor and CEO of MyPillow, Inc. The Minnesota-based company has been in business for more than a decade and sold more than 46 million MyPillows. Lindell started the business in his garage with the help of his family. He is a philanthropist giving millions of dollars to help those in need. Lindell is also an evangelist who does speaking engagements nationwide. His passion has always been for helping people. Lindell is proof that with hard work and faith, you can live your dream.
Lindell is also the inventor and CEO of MyPillow, Inc. The Minnesota-based company has been in business for more than a decade and sold more than 46 million MyPillows. Lindell started the business in his garage with the help of his family. He is a philanthropist giving millions of dollars to help those in need. Lindell is also an evangelist who does speaking engagements nationwide. His passion has always been for helping people. Lindell is proof that with hard work and faith, you can live your dream.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 386 reviews
January 30, 2020
Hearing Mike on radio interviews, I knew he had a incredible story! This book does not disappoint. It is crazy good. A fast, easy read. Very hard to put down. Read it in 3 days even with a migraine! I rarely leave reviews but feel others will enjoy this book.
April 19, 2020
Couldn't put this one down! This story seemed too amazing to be true! Each page just kept moving from unfathomable challenge to miraculous recovery. Really inspiring. A true rags to riches to redemption story.
February 20, 2021
Sorry, but this is a depressing book that is the opposite of inspirational and instead celebrates the depravity of a man who hurt hundreds or thousands of people during his life, all to have it neatly justified by his "premonitions" that he'd be famous and write a biography that would influence others. What I expected to be an interesting book about a Christian CEO who built an amazing business instead is about a complete failure in every aspect of life (including business) except hucksterism and pulling the wool over everyone's eyes.
Mike Lindell is not a great businessman nor a successful longtime Christian. Instead, until the age of 55 he was thirty-year crack addict who influenced many people to do illegal drugs, was a bankrupt beggar who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars that he borrowed from others, and ultimately found his salvation to be counting cards in Vegas, where he gambled away his family money without giving any thought to his first wife or his kids. Namely, this guy isn't a role model anyone should follow.
But the way the book is written, Lindell's ego is so big from the start that when he's young he thinks he's going to write a bestseller about his life and is going to someday have a national platform to spread his message. What that message is, he doesn't know until age 55, when he finally truly commits his life to Christ (despite all the vague spiritual talk and church attendance before then). Until then he claims to have supernatural things happen to him and is given dreams of exact scenes that will occur, such as standing in Trump's office to have his picture taken. All of it sounds like a guy trying to put together a bestseller that could become a Hollywood movie, only this time no ones going to believe it.
It's all pretty absurd, and much of it lacks any credibility. The guy was drugged out of his mind pretty much daily for over 30 years, but we're supposed to believe he has incredible memory of minute details and specific conversations from decades ago? We're supposed to buy that all along he had a spiritual side for which there is no evidence whatsoever? How can a reader trust a guy who compiled the greatest amount of bad things I've ever read in a memoir with almost no regret and seems to be boasting about it?!
After reading over 300 pages of him telling me all the horrible things he did to his family, his wives, his kids, his business partners, his community, and his employees, I don't believe his final 12 pages that suddenly turn him into an amazing man of God. I don't believe that he just woke up one morning after 30 years of daily cocaine consumption and said he was going to stop. I don't believe that he has given up control of his life, nor that he doesn't like being in public as he claims. He has no problem spending tens of millions of dollars so that hundreds of millions see his goofy TV ads, yet he claims he doesn't want the focus to be on him. Right.
Only time will tell if he can truly be trusted, but based on these stories I wouldn't believe one thing he ever says about anything. It's Biblical to test the spirit and to not be foolish by believing false prophets (1 John). There's also nothing Christian about enabling someone to have drinking, drug, and gambling addictions for decades. I don't understand why so many people gave him so many chances or loaned him so much money that he threw away. No one appeared to have the guts to stand up to him, force him to live in the streets and let him suffer; instead they enabled his bad habits and underwrote his horrible business decisions.
His association with Trump is now comical because in the book he admits that in 2015 he didn't even know what a Democrat or Republican stood for. He allowed himself to be used by the Trump people because he was a TV pitchman for his pillows and perceived to be rich. In truth Lindell was in debt and losing money for everyone around him, wasting it on drugs and gambling in order to pay bills. Perception of having money buys access to all sorts of famous people (as Lindell loves to brag about meeting). But he not only wasn't the businessman people thought him to be, he wasn't the Christian he led others to believe. In many ways he was similar to Donald Trump.
This infuriating book could have worked if an objective author wrote it with comments from all the people who had their lives ruined by Lindell. All we hear in this text is his recounting of tales, but there must be hundreds of versions of the stories he tells from those who see things differently. There's nothing here that explains his charm or influence that made others want to feel sorry for him. When the guy was 20 years old it should have all been shut down and he should have been jailed--instead he tries rehab, slips away from cops, gets help from ex-lovers, gets his first wife addicted to crack for decades, and all the while claims to be a great father whose top priority were his kids and family. Right.
The main thing I learned from this book is that most people are gullible, believe the ridiculous visions and dreams of con men, and are drawn to huge confident egotists instead of dealing with truth or even truth spirituality. Even the reviews of the book I've seen show how naive people are, claiming it's inspiring when 95% of it is about the bad things he has done and only the last few pages provide any kind of positive relief.
Mike Lindell grew up in small Fairmont, only a hundred miles from Mason City, Iowa that was the basis for The Music Man. Lindell is a modern Harold Hill who tries to sucker people into giving him money, all the while on the run from the law. Even those that catch on to his schemes are charmed by the guy, and in the end the townspeople are happy with the horribly unprofessional children's band that's put together, forgiving him all his faults when he claims to change his ways for a woman. So Lindell is a modern Harold Hill, forgiven for his horrible life of crime because of some corny TV ads and a claim to having changed his ways for his deeply Christian new wife with a last-minute conversion.
Lindell, in writing this book, still has the huge ego that makes him think he's in control of everything, but he's not. What has happened to his business recently with the stores refusing to sell his product is just another in a long line of messages being sent to him to humble himself, make amends with others, go through AA or NA, and stop thinking he's the center of the world. The odds are that he's not.
Mike Lindell is not a great businessman nor a successful longtime Christian. Instead, until the age of 55 he was thirty-year crack addict who influenced many people to do illegal drugs, was a bankrupt beggar who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars that he borrowed from others, and ultimately found his salvation to be counting cards in Vegas, where he gambled away his family money without giving any thought to his first wife or his kids. Namely, this guy isn't a role model anyone should follow.
But the way the book is written, Lindell's ego is so big from the start that when he's young he thinks he's going to write a bestseller about his life and is going to someday have a national platform to spread his message. What that message is, he doesn't know until age 55, when he finally truly commits his life to Christ (despite all the vague spiritual talk and church attendance before then). Until then he claims to have supernatural things happen to him and is given dreams of exact scenes that will occur, such as standing in Trump's office to have his picture taken. All of it sounds like a guy trying to put together a bestseller that could become a Hollywood movie, only this time no ones going to believe it.
It's all pretty absurd, and much of it lacks any credibility. The guy was drugged out of his mind pretty much daily for over 30 years, but we're supposed to believe he has incredible memory of minute details and specific conversations from decades ago? We're supposed to buy that all along he had a spiritual side for which there is no evidence whatsoever? How can a reader trust a guy who compiled the greatest amount of bad things I've ever read in a memoir with almost no regret and seems to be boasting about it?!
After reading over 300 pages of him telling me all the horrible things he did to his family, his wives, his kids, his business partners, his community, and his employees, I don't believe his final 12 pages that suddenly turn him into an amazing man of God. I don't believe that he just woke up one morning after 30 years of daily cocaine consumption and said he was going to stop. I don't believe that he has given up control of his life, nor that he doesn't like being in public as he claims. He has no problem spending tens of millions of dollars so that hundreds of millions see his goofy TV ads, yet he claims he doesn't want the focus to be on him. Right.
Only time will tell if he can truly be trusted, but based on these stories I wouldn't believe one thing he ever says about anything. It's Biblical to test the spirit and to not be foolish by believing false prophets (1 John). There's also nothing Christian about enabling someone to have drinking, drug, and gambling addictions for decades. I don't understand why so many people gave him so many chances or loaned him so much money that he threw away. No one appeared to have the guts to stand up to him, force him to live in the streets and let him suffer; instead they enabled his bad habits and underwrote his horrible business decisions.
His association with Trump is now comical because in the book he admits that in 2015 he didn't even know what a Democrat or Republican stood for. He allowed himself to be used by the Trump people because he was a TV pitchman for his pillows and perceived to be rich. In truth Lindell was in debt and losing money for everyone around him, wasting it on drugs and gambling in order to pay bills. Perception of having money buys access to all sorts of famous people (as Lindell loves to brag about meeting). But he not only wasn't the businessman people thought him to be, he wasn't the Christian he led others to believe. In many ways he was similar to Donald Trump.
This infuriating book could have worked if an objective author wrote it with comments from all the people who had their lives ruined by Lindell. All we hear in this text is his recounting of tales, but there must be hundreds of versions of the stories he tells from those who see things differently. There's nothing here that explains his charm or influence that made others want to feel sorry for him. When the guy was 20 years old it should have all been shut down and he should have been jailed--instead he tries rehab, slips away from cops, gets help from ex-lovers, gets his first wife addicted to crack for decades, and all the while claims to be a great father whose top priority were his kids and family. Right.
The main thing I learned from this book is that most people are gullible, believe the ridiculous visions and dreams of con men, and are drawn to huge confident egotists instead of dealing with truth or even truth spirituality. Even the reviews of the book I've seen show how naive people are, claiming it's inspiring when 95% of it is about the bad things he has done and only the last few pages provide any kind of positive relief.
Mike Lindell grew up in small Fairmont, only a hundred miles from Mason City, Iowa that was the basis for The Music Man. Lindell is a modern Harold Hill who tries to sucker people into giving him money, all the while on the run from the law. Even those that catch on to his schemes are charmed by the guy, and in the end the townspeople are happy with the horribly unprofessional children's band that's put together, forgiving him all his faults when he claims to change his ways for a woman. So Lindell is a modern Harold Hill, forgiven for his horrible life of crime because of some corny TV ads and a claim to having changed his ways for his deeply Christian new wife with a last-minute conversion.
Lindell, in writing this book, still has the huge ego that makes him think he's in control of everything, but he's not. What has happened to his business recently with the stores refusing to sell his product is just another in a long line of messages being sent to him to humble himself, make amends with others, go through AA or NA, and stop thinking he's the center of the world. The odds are that he's not.
June 5, 2021
From Crack Addict to CEO and now to successful first time author
Mike Lindell has written an autobiography with the theme that God makes the odds irrelevant. In spite of the improbability of events happening, Mike Lindell has always come out on top when the chances are stacked against him. Mike attributes these unlikely scenarios falling in his direction to the providential hand of God.
The book gets a bit tedious after hearing chapter after chapter of Mike's bone-headed mistakes and missteps, but if you have patience and endurance, the last quarter or so of the book will have you cheering as Mike finally beats his addictions one at a time and starts to change his life's trajectory.
If you enjoy inspirational biographies, this one will be one you should enjoy.
Mike Lindell has written an autobiography with the theme that God makes the odds irrelevant. In spite of the improbability of events happening, Mike Lindell has always come out on top when the chances are stacked against him. Mike attributes these unlikely scenarios falling in his direction to the providential hand of God.
The book gets a bit tedious after hearing chapter after chapter of Mike's bone-headed mistakes and missteps, but if you have patience and endurance, the last quarter or so of the book will have you cheering as Mike finally beats his addictions one at a time and starts to change his life's trajectory.
If you enjoy inspirational biographies, this one will be one you should enjoy.
June 2, 2021
I enjoyed this scorchingly honest book by Lindell, in which he chronicles his life from alcohol, cocaine, and crack, to sobriety; from agnostic, to believer in Jesus Christ. Mike was an extraordinarily high-functioning addict and very successful, even during his crack years, with the exception of the period following his divorce. He details many, many incidences in which amazing things happened for him-- in his favor--and over which he had zero control, and which, "by the odds," should never have happened. He includes many terrible things that happened as well--often by his own doing, but out of which he was invariably saved. He includes the rocky history of his company MY PILLOW, including how he got the idea and how he saw it go from dream to reality. (The challenges that he faced were daunting by any measure, but the ultimate success of that company speaks for itself. The new challenge--of being cancelled by extreme leftists who bullied corporations into towing their line and dropping his products, will ultimately turn out in his favor too, I have no doubt. Read this book and you'll not doubt it, either! God has had a hand upon this man and his company.)
This is not the beautifully written memoir of a literary writer, but the honest account of a survivor who's been there, done that, and come out the other end. Mike bares it all-his failures as a man, as a husband and father, and even as a business owner, but ultimately his story is one of triumph. Not only the triumph of the human spirit against all odds, but of the power of faith and of God. Lindell's story should give every addict hope, but more than that, it can give us all hope--you don't need to have been a crack addict to understand that God can take anyone, forgive anything, and still use them for good and great things in this life. Thanks, Mike Lindell, for sharing your inspiring journey!
This is not the beautifully written memoir of a literary writer, but the honest account of a survivor who's been there, done that, and come out the other end. Mike bares it all-his failures as a man, as a husband and father, and even as a business owner, but ultimately his story is one of triumph. Not only the triumph of the human spirit against all odds, but of the power of faith and of God. Lindell's story should give every addict hope, but more than that, it can give us all hope--you don't need to have been a crack addict to understand that God can take anyone, forgive anything, and still use them for good and great things in this life. Thanks, Mike Lindell, for sharing your inspiring journey!
November 23, 2023
An impactful, heart-wrenching story about a man who was very lost...until an encounter with Jesus turned him around. Be warned, though: This is not for the faint of heart!
Read
May 24, 2020Mike Lindell is the ultimate conman, and it took me all of thirty seconds to determine that aters eeing him in a tv advertisement; then his book confirmed my conviction when he made a convocation speech at Liberty University:
"As i wrapped up my convocation speech, i emphasized that each person in that audience
also had a calling...just when i think God can't bless me anymore. He does... let's call it what it is: a
miracle.
So Lindell, the Conman would have us believe that God planned for him to lead an irresponsible life so that ultimately he could redeem himself. Praise be to Jesus! Allah Akbar!
July 8, 2020
Inspirational, frustrating, uplifting, challenging, miraculous are some of the words that came to my mind as I read Mike Lindell's story. Even though I know the successful ending before I started reading, I couldn't get over the roller coaster ride he took me on in his ups and downs of his life. I got so angry with some of his choices along the way, but maybe those were necessary to get him where he is today. The title, "What Are the Odds?" is perfect on so many levels with his gambling, his addictions, and his actual survival. There are many times that it was miraculous he made it to live to see another day. My Pillow isn't just a bunch of products, it isn't just a brand, it's a dream that became a reality that has come to help many other people besides Mike Lindell. It seems Mike had to hit rock bottom to realize his calling and now he is using his experience, his ingenuity, and his success to help others. Mike Lindell is a real life example of with God all things are possible.
January 16, 2022
This was one of those roller coaster biographies! An excellent view of the transformational powers of God and the workings of the Holy Spirit, by way of the relationship we attain through Christ. I could hardly put this book down it was so interesting. This is one of those books that is "well worth your time to read!"
April 17, 2021
To be honest, I fully expected this book to be terrible. I really love autobiographies, but because he is such a talkative man, I expected his book to be filled with unimportant, boring details. It was anything but that! The story is so wild that it's almost unbelievable, but it's also so redemptive. I really enjoyed it & have much more respect for Mike Lindell. What a story!!
April 8, 2021
One of my most favorite books that I have ever read!
May 7, 2021
I couldn't put this book down...great read.
March 12, 2021
Could this be true? This book is definitely a page turner and I had a hard time putting it down. Mike is a real story teller. I know there is a God and that nothing is impossible for Him. Yet it is with some skepticism that I pondered the multiple miracles, "words from the Lord" and "premonitions". There are, and will be, many who claim to speak for and hear from the "Divine" yet can not be trusted. However, this account left me longing for a better prayer life and a deeper relationship with the Creator of the universe, through His son Jesus.
I had no idea how destructive and all consuming crack addiction is. It opened my eyes to a whole new world! Many will be helped by Mike's willingness to let us see his dirty laundry yet God's faithfulness through it all. We may not have such HUGE, "What are the odds", moments but each of us must sit and memorialize God's hand in each of our lives.
I ordered and read this book because of Mike Lindell's fearless stand for his faith, for his support of conservative and Christian voices and for his exposition of the election integrity issues in the USA. He has been attacked by the left yet stands even when it hurts and in the face of great personal/financial loss. So I encourage you to read the book and to go to his MyPillow store to support this patriot.
I had no idea how destructive and all consuming crack addiction is. It opened my eyes to a whole new world! Many will be helped by Mike's willingness to let us see his dirty laundry yet God's faithfulness through it all. We may not have such HUGE, "What are the odds", moments but each of us must sit and memorialize God's hand in each of our lives.
I ordered and read this book because of Mike Lindell's fearless stand for his faith, for his support of conservative and Christian voices and for his exposition of the election integrity issues in the USA. He has been attacked by the left yet stands even when it hurts and in the face of great personal/financial loss. So I encourage you to read the book and to go to his MyPillow store to support this patriot.
July 20, 2020
Very inspirational
Very inspirational
Being a sober alcoholic for 30 years I came to accept Yashua in 1996 I realize that it was he who kept me sober and kept me free from drugs from cigarettes.
Reading Mike’s book reinforced that belief.
Very inspirational
Being a sober alcoholic for 30 years I came to accept Yashua in 1996 I realize that it was he who kept me sober and kept me free from drugs from cigarettes.
Reading Mike’s book reinforced that belief.
January 31, 2021
This book was KILLER!!!!!!! It touched me in a very significant way. Yes, I got tired of seeing his commercials over and over, but his story was unimaginable! I felt many of the same things he did growing up with drugs and spots where I shouldn't be alive. He's a great storyteller and the depths he went to for that company is incredible. I know they were truly God moments, but I bet the average person would've been knocked down not even halfway through what he did. I hope I get to meet him some day. I bought a couple of soft pillows and a travel pillow after I read it, plus I am buying a copy of the book for my dad. Took me only 2 days. It's amazing.
March 27, 2020
Incredible story of redemption.
June 13, 2022
This story definitely gives you the boost to push through life’s struggles. I warm-hearted great story of climbing up the mountain and proudly sitting on the peak and rewarding yourself for your wins!
July 26, 2021
This book was surprisingly good. It is fast-paced, sincerely penned, and filled with hope for those struggling with addiction.
September 21, 2024
It’s a book about the my pillow guy so it’s an instant 5. My favorite part was when God spoke to him and told him to create the MyPillow. Truly fantastic tale.
July 6, 2021
When I chose this book I understood the basic premise - Mike Lindell is an extremely successful businessman who also had a past life of addiction and the associated behaviors. I really didn't understand the extent or depth of his addictions until I listened to his book.
It's even more impacting because he is the narrator. His 'unpolished' realism and humility describing his upbringing, his relationships and crazy antics come through honestly without exaggeration. There's no need to exaggerate just as there's no need to minimize the depravity he managed to escape with the help of others.
It's a riveting page-turner for sure. We were frequently shocked as well as laughed out loud about his admitted stupidity. We get it. We know we've done some pretty dumb things too and "there but for the grace of God" go we.
This book will leave you inspired, motivated, and smiling that you too can do and be what you desire. No matter what.
It's even more impacting because he is the narrator. His 'unpolished' realism and humility describing his upbringing, his relationships and crazy antics come through honestly without exaggeration. There's no need to exaggerate just as there's no need to minimize the depravity he managed to escape with the help of others.
It's a riveting page-turner for sure. We were frequently shocked as well as laughed out loud about his admitted stupidity. We get it. We know we've done some pretty dumb things too and "there but for the grace of God" go we.
This book will leave you inspired, motivated, and smiling that you too can do and be what you desire. No matter what.
March 1, 2022
It reads as though it was dictated rather than written, is a bit chaotic and despite its length surprisingly light on details. You will get many stories of card counting and drug taking however things like the actual story behind MyPillow (and most of Lindell’s other businesses) and his relationship with Christianity are very hazy.
So counter intuitively in choosing to focus so heavily on Mike’s direct experiences you aren’t really left in a place to have much of an understanding of him or his life as there simply isn't the context to place them in. At best you can get an understanding of him having incredible luck and perseverance while burning through enormous amounts of his and other peoples money.
That said given the kind of luck he has and if his premonitions weren't all made up it is very easy to see why he has such an unshakeable conviction in whatever he believes.
So counter intuitively in choosing to focus so heavily on Mike’s direct experiences you aren’t really left in a place to have much of an understanding of him or his life as there simply isn't the context to place them in. At best you can get an understanding of him having incredible luck and perseverance while burning through enormous amounts of his and other peoples money.
That said given the kind of luck he has and if his premonitions weren't all made up it is very easy to see why he has such an unshakeable conviction in whatever he believes.
March 2, 2021
What a great read! I could hardly put it down. Each short, enthralling chapter was followed by another. I have been a Mike Lindell / MyPillow fan for years and have heard him on interviews and on his commercials, so I thought, "Well, what else could I possibly find out?" I bought this book because a) I wanted to know more of his story, and b) I wanted to support him further (we own about 6 MyPillows!) when his products were dropped by Bed, Bath & Beyond and other retailers.
His moving story is eye-opening and jaw-dropping; it also is incredibly inspiring—not only how he created his amazing business, but also how his personal relationship with God just grew and grew. My admiration for what he's made of his life continues to grow as well.
His moving story is eye-opening and jaw-dropping; it also is incredibly inspiring—not only how he created his amazing business, but also how his personal relationship with God just grew and grew. My admiration for what he's made of his life continues to grow as well.
August 18, 2020
This may not be the most fascinating book I have ever read, but it is certainly the most fascinating autobiography I have ever read.
This should have been the story of another drug caused human trajedy, but it wasn't. This should have been a tale of opportunities squandered, and families ruined, but it wasn't. This should been the end of Mike Lindell, but it wasn't. What it was....well you will have to read it to find out what it was. But I will tell you this, it was a real page turner!
This should have been the story of another drug caused human trajedy, but it wasn't. This should have been a tale of opportunities squandered, and families ruined, but it wasn't. This should been the end of Mike Lindell, but it wasn't. What it was....well you will have to read it to find out what it was. But I will tell you this, it was a real page turner!
August 9, 2022
I could not put this book down. Mike Lindell has some of the craziest experiences and coolest testimony of what God has done in and through his life. Through Mikes life, I’ve learned that if God has declared something over your life let it be so! No matter your past or your competence, if God decides to use you then watch out and let him work! Nothing is impossible for Jesus and Miracles do exists!
September 5, 2020
What an incredible story of survival and comebacks!
We all know the My Pillow guy but not the real story behind it all! Many many times I would think, Mike come on.... ! Whether you believe in Devine intervention, karma or being at the right place at the right time this will have you shaking your head and screaming at the words!! Amazing story, life and how he intends to pay it forward .
We all know the My Pillow guy but not the real story behind it all! Many many times I would think, Mike come on.... ! Whether you believe in Devine intervention, karma or being at the right place at the right time this will have you shaking your head and screaming at the words!! Amazing story, life and how he intends to pay it forward .
January 7, 2022
Wow...what a life Mike has had! I had heard some of the stories being from the area he’s from and knowing people who are friends with him, but reading his own words was incredible. His life story and testimony is amazing! Mike is the real deal! Definitely a page turner I didn’t want to put down! I can’t wait to see where God takes him!
February 22, 2022
This is a really good book. Well written by a very smart man, who did overcome so many awful scenarios, that it does seem that all odds were against him.
He's a good man with a good message. I had trouble putting the book down. A real page turner.
Good for him!!
He's a good man with a good message. I had trouble putting the book down. A real page turner.
Good for him!!
February 3, 2021
Loved every minute of the book!
February 7, 2025
Can't wait to read his next book! What an inspiration to be honest and to always keep your word. One day I would love to thank him for speaking out about addiction and sharing there is always hope in Jesus and recovery rocks!
June 12, 2022
Let me just say, first off, that this book was going to get four stars anyway for the amazing lenticular cover. It’s like going to a William Castle film—irregardful of what the movie’s like, the gimmicks are coming at you so hard you’re guaranteed a good time.
Nevertheless, the book is fun, gimmicks or no. I think it’s supposed to be a cautionary tale, but it hardly works as one because Lindell is so obviously having such a grand time for much of his wild gadabout irresponsible life. He is completely without shame or self-control, but is nevertheless charming and full of fun, and the memoir of such a man is always a good ride. At one point, Lindell goes to a high school reunion and regales the boring, successful straights there with tales of his hare-brained misadventures, and then reflects, as he leaves, that there is something pathetic in entertaining people with his pathological irresponsibility—of course, this ambivalence absolutely permeates the book, as it does any book like this. “Kids! Don’t do the wicked fun but dangerous thing I just did because you might die and by the way I didn’t.”
Lindell comes across (if I may be permitted to psychoanalyze) as an addict who is sometimes addicted to gambling and sometimes addicted to crack and is currently addicted to selling pillows. He’s also very charming, and as a consequence the book is always enjoyable. What it’s not always is convincing, or even plausible. Even leaving aside the near-death experiences and celebrity sightings, by the end of the book, characters are prophesying the future on a regular basis. “When I checked it [the photograph] later, I saw that it was the exact image I’d seen in my dream” etc. If I’m ever going to believe a story about psychic predictions, it’s not going to be coming from an intermittently successful professional gambler.
Also, it’s surreal being told by one of America’s most famous conspiracy theorists that drugs made him paranoid.
Overall Lindell, if he wrote this book himself (he implies he did), acquits himself well. I’m glad he got his life off crack. I hope he gets…better.
Nevertheless, the book is fun, gimmicks or no. I think it’s supposed to be a cautionary tale, but it hardly works as one because Lindell is so obviously having such a grand time for much of his wild gadabout irresponsible life. He is completely without shame or self-control, but is nevertheless charming and full of fun, and the memoir of such a man is always a good ride. At one point, Lindell goes to a high school reunion and regales the boring, successful straights there with tales of his hare-brained misadventures, and then reflects, as he leaves, that there is something pathetic in entertaining people with his pathological irresponsibility—of course, this ambivalence absolutely permeates the book, as it does any book like this. “Kids! Don’t do the wicked fun but dangerous thing I just did because you might die and by the way I didn’t.”
Lindell comes across (if I may be permitted to psychoanalyze) as an addict who is sometimes addicted to gambling and sometimes addicted to crack and is currently addicted to selling pillows. He’s also very charming, and as a consequence the book is always enjoyable. What it’s not always is convincing, or even plausible. Even leaving aside the near-death experiences and celebrity sightings, by the end of the book, characters are prophesying the future on a regular basis. “When I checked it [the photograph] later, I saw that it was the exact image I’d seen in my dream” etc. If I’m ever going to believe a story about psychic predictions, it’s not going to be coming from an intermittently successful professional gambler.
Also, it’s surreal being told by one of America’s most famous conspiracy theorists that drugs made him paranoid.
Overall Lindell, if he wrote this book himself (he implies he did), acquits himself well. I’m glad he got his life off crack. I hope he gets…better.
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