Crazy Is My Superpower

How I Triumphed by Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules

By: AJ Mendez

Narrated by: AJ Mendez

Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

The New York Times Best Seller

Recently retired WWE superstar AJ Mendez Brooks is a powerhouse - strong, quirky, and totally confident. But that wasn’t always the case. With humor and tremendous heart, she opens up for the first time about her harrowing struggle to understand her demons and the diagnosis that helped her gain control over her life. 

Everything I was told should be my greatest insecurities and weaknesses, everything that I’ve been labeled - short, nerdy, skinny, weak, impulsive, ugly, tomboy, poor, rebel, loud, freak, crazy - turned out to be my greatest strengths. I didn’t become successful in spite of them. I became successful because of them.

Growing up AJ was a quiet girl trying to act “normal” when she felt anything but. As her family struggled with drug addiction, poverty, and mental illness, she found escape through comic books and video games, and was inspired by the tough and unconventional female characters. It wasn’t until she discovered pro wrestling that she learned superheroes could be real. 

Determined to become the superhero she’d always admired, AJ trained and sacrificed for years to achieve her dream of wrestling professionally. Yet she quickly faced industry pressure to play the role of the damsel in distress and to dress more provocatively to cater to male fans. But she fought back and created an ass-kicking alter ego that was a genuine representation of herself: nerdy, enthusiastic, and a little bit crazy. 

With humor and tremendous heart, AJ opens up for the first time about her harrowing struggle to understand her demons and the mental illness diagnosis that helped her gain control over her life. What most people view as a hardship, AJ embraced as inspiration for her superhero persona, shattering the stigma attached to mental illness. 

Charting her journey from a scrappy girl in an unstable home to an empowered wrestling champion, Crazy Is My Superpower is an unflinchingly honest story and brave confessional about her long road to self-acceptance.

©2017 AJ Mendez Brooks (P)2017 Random House Audio

Expected a wrestling book, got a lot more

Bought this thinking it was a wrestling book, it had maybe 4 chapters talking about her life in wrestling. Not a bad thing, this story turned out to be a success story of someone with a mental illness who overcame many obstacles in life.

Great read and better listen!

Loved the book when I read it (twice) loved it even more with AJ telling the story. To hear it all from her point of view through her own voice made it truly unique and special.

Awesome!!

I loved this book! I loved how it was narrated by the author. I loved how it brings awareness to mental health. As someone who struggles with mental health, it’s nice to hear that we are not the only ones! Thanks for sharing your incredible and inspirational story!

awesome!

I LOVED IT!!!! AJ was an awesome narrator and she made me laugh and cry and has inspired me to do better for myself

Loved it!

Definitely would recommend this book to anyone that is struggling with mental illness or would just like to know what it is like to grow up with and around it.

Thought provoking, heartbreaking, and amazing...

AJ has had a much more difficult life than I will ever conceptualize, but her spirit and determination have served her well. As I have been a major fan for many years, I was not really surprised by her ability to narrate her own story. That being said, I did enjoy hearing her warm voice.

Excellent. So glad I listened.

Great book. Fascinating detail and brutally honest. What an amazing woman. I liked how she gave a full picture of the many obstacles in her life and an open assessment of how she tried to deal with each hurdle. She unflinchingly shows her mistakes as well as triumphs. A woman to relate to on every level.

not what I expected

I was expecting a book about wrestling and life on the road... I ended up getting a story of one persons life long internal struggle and how they turned their negative life into one positive after another. this book came away inspiring me.

this book is about overcoming stereotypes and being who you are... if I ever have a daughter, I would want her to listen to this book.

What a story!

Amazing life story of AJ growing up until her breakthrough in the WWE. Not as much dedicated to her relationship with Mr. Brooks or the time in the WWE as I expected/wanted but, still a triumphant story of determination and will.

The best book ever!!!

This book will make you cry and laugh. I have never been happier to see my favorite superstar, idol, hero what ever you want to call her have her own book . Never know her entire life story now I do and respect the shit out of her even more !!!