What do you think?
Journey to Joy: A Boy Unveiled
The joy is in the journey! We all have our own journey in life with ups and downs. Sometimes it feels like things will never go our way, but yet if we are bold enough to face our fears, learn from our failures, and heal from our pain then we can find the overflowing joy. This story is about my journey in life which has lead me to the realization that yes the joy is in the journey.
168 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 12, 2022
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 3, 2023
Oh, dear, this is a hard one.
I have a strange history with David Tutera.
I never met him, but he was as close to a hero as I had, for a while. His first show, My Fair Wedding, aired on some obscure channel. I had a small TV in my room, and My Fair Wedding played, in the morning. I watched it, as I got ready for school, in 2007. I was 12. I never liked weddings, even as a kid. I thought they were dumb, and I never wanted one. But I loved everything David orchestrated. He was everything 2000's glitz had to offer. He was a mix of QVC mixed with reality TV. He was the dream internship I wanted. He seemed like a friendly guy.
He's had other iterations of My Fair Wedding. They got trashier and cheaper, as time went on. Now I think he's back to his roots, working privately with celebrities.
I still kept up with him.
Now, on to this book. I wish David was a bigger celebrity, so more people would know his story, and so he could get a good ghostwriter. He had a horrible childhood. Very Long Island Catholic. His family was abusive and dysfunctional. He was groomed by a teacher, sexually assaulted, and raped by another teacher. Not to mention all the psychological abuse he took from the former. Then there were a string of abusive relationships, and his addiction issues.
I really appreciate someone going through as much as he did, and come out in a happy place.
But, it seems, after he gets past high school, the chapters go by too fast. I knocked off two stars, because I think there is a lot he hasn't worked through; mainly his first husband who wasn't even mentioned. Joey is his second husband. I have no idea why he tried to pass off his first child as being Joey's.
In fact, his divorce was a minor scandal. He had twins. One is biologically related to him, and one to the ex. When they divorced, it was agreed each would take a twin; the one they were biologically related to. It was like a parent trap situation. To this day, it's unknown if David has any contact with the other twin, and if the twins are being raised with some kind of relationship. The marriage to Ryan Jurica and divorce seems to have never existed, and it baffles me why David left that out.
Well, that's why Reddit exists.
I have a strange history with David Tutera.
I never met him, but he was as close to a hero as I had, for a while. His first show, My Fair Wedding, aired on some obscure channel. I had a small TV in my room, and My Fair Wedding played, in the morning. I watched it, as I got ready for school, in 2007. I was 12. I never liked weddings, even as a kid. I thought they were dumb, and I never wanted one. But I loved everything David orchestrated. He was everything 2000's glitz had to offer. He was a mix of QVC mixed with reality TV. He was the dream internship I wanted. He seemed like a friendly guy.
He's had other iterations of My Fair Wedding. They got trashier and cheaper, as time went on. Now I think he's back to his roots, working privately with celebrities.
I still kept up with him.
Now, on to this book. I wish David was a bigger celebrity, so more people would know his story, and so he could get a good ghostwriter. He had a horrible childhood. Very Long Island Catholic. His family was abusive and dysfunctional. He was groomed by a teacher, sexually assaulted, and raped by another teacher. Not to mention all the psychological abuse he took from the former. Then there were a string of abusive relationships, and his addiction issues.
I really appreciate someone going through as much as he did, and come out in a happy place.
But, it seems, after he gets past high school, the chapters go by too fast. I knocked off two stars, because I think there is a lot he hasn't worked through; mainly his first husband who wasn't even mentioned. Joey is his second husband. I have no idea why he tried to pass off his first child as being Joey's.
In fact, his divorce was a minor scandal. He had twins. One is biologically related to him, and one to the ex. When they divorced, it was agreed each would take a twin; the one they were biologically related to. It was like a parent trap situation. To this day, it's unknown if David has any contact with the other twin, and if the twins are being raised with some kind of relationship. The marriage to Ryan Jurica and divorce seems to have never existed, and it baffles me why David left that out.
Well, that's why Reddit exists.
May 14, 2023
I received this book as a gift from my daughter, and I absolutely loved it. As a former wedding planner, I have been honored to have met David Tutera twice at Wedding MBA in 2017 and again in 2019. That year (2019), I was able to chat with him for a moment and tell him what an inspiration he was to me to follow my dream as a wedding planner. I was also privileged to meet his husband, Joey Toth. Both men are amazing, kind, compassionate, and caring.
It was so cool to open the book and find that David started it with his reflections as he waited backstage at Wedding MBA 2019, since I was in the audience that very day.
I am definitely recommending this book to my daughter, who is adopted, bi-racial, and bi-sexual, and struggled so much throughout her childhood with prejudice and ridicule. She is an amazing 31-year-old now and often attends (and speaks at) rallies for LGBQT+ and Black Lives Matters. I'm so proud of her.
Thank you, David, for your beautiful, poignant, and inspiring story.
It was so cool to open the book and find that David started it with his reflections as he waited backstage at Wedding MBA 2019, since I was in the audience that very day.
I am definitely recommending this book to my daughter, who is adopted, bi-racial, and bi-sexual, and struggled so much throughout her childhood with prejudice and ridicule. She is an amazing 31-year-old now and often attends (and speaks at) rallies for LGBQT+ and Black Lives Matters. I'm so proud of her.
Thank you, David, for your beautiful, poignant, and inspiring story.
Read
April 17, 2023I decided not to rate. This was not a great book. But... I went to high school with David Tutera - not that he would remember me at all. This was a pretty good trashing of my high school, and some teachers that I too had, who had questionable reputations. It was a trainwreck I couldn't look away from for the first several chapters. The rest was also a chronicle of his life - mostly the bad and the ugly with a sprinkling of the good. I enjoyed his TV show back in the day. Good for him for creating a great career for himself and being able to separate from the family and town about which he has many resentments.
Read
March 31, 2023Wow is all I can say! He should be embarrassed how he trashed his family and Port Chester. what I find really weird is he completely eliminated his first wedding, and the twins that were born, of which he has one. If you want to write a book, tell the whole story not just the pieces that you want people to see.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews