If you were to do what I've been taught not to do and judge Titus O'Neil's upcoming book - Wrestling With Fatherhood: My Championship Journey to My Greatest Title: Dad - by its cover, you could very well end up let down.
There is a WWE logo in the top left corner of the book's face, so I immediately assumed it would be an autobiography about the World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler and current global ambassador - Titus O'Neil.
It isn't that.
What Wrestling With Fatherhood is is a reflection on his role as a father by Thaddeus Bullard Sr: the real man behind the Titus O'Neil moniker.
Going in, I was aware of Bullard's work as a philanthropist, his community work and - in my opinion - one of the coolest things he has achieved: having a school named after him. The book details Bullard's work but, as it says on the cover, the main spotlight shines on Bullard overcame being born to a single mother to achieving a family of his own.
Bullard uses the 'it takes a village to raise a child' proverb a lot in this book. He uses it with experience, though. That's because some of his strong mentors as a child were people who were not considered family initially. Those people accepted their job as role models to Bullard.
Going by Bullard's words, it's evident that Charles Blalock is the strongest inspiration to Bullard. His guidance has led the book's writer to become the man he is today.
After closing the book, as weird as this may come across, I felt that I knew less about Titus O'Neil but more about Thaddeus Bullard Sr.
If anyone is looking to pick this book up to learn about Titus O'Neil's sporting and active pro wrestling career, they'll end up finding little. There isn't enough substance to recommend it for that.
This book should be handed to the organisations World Wrestling Entertainment works alongside. With Bullard acting as one of the ambassadors for the company, the book would help those groups learn more about the person than a press pack would.
But, that's not all.
In my opinion, the ideal audience would be young persons - whether they are fathers or not - who may need to be inspired to see that it is possible to be reach a high station in life through the helping actions and words of a village.
⭐⭐ /5
Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Press for the advance reading copy
'Wrestling With Fatherhood: My Championship Journey to My Greatest Title: Dad' by Titus O'Neil (Thaddeus Bullard Sr.) is scheduled to be published on September 3 2024
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