Zachary Lewis, Author Of 'The Burly Man' Chosen As Finalist For '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading'

SHALLOTTE, NC, November 16, 2012 (Press-News.org) Zachary Lewis, author of 'The Burly Man' has been chosen as a finalist for '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading'. Winners will appear in this years edition of the book. Lewis was chosen as the result of his appearance on The Authors Show Radio.

Mr. Lewis has been actively involved with martial arts since 1985. He is the author of 'The Principles And Philosophy Of Weishendo'. On June 17th, of 2009, Mr. Lewis had his first of many ER Visits to the hospital. Eight months later on February 12th, 2010, he was diagnosed with Polymyositis, and on August 25th, 2010, he was diagnosed with Lupus. Both are incurable auto-immune diseases. Polymyositis affects the muscular system of the human body, while Lupus affects every major organ of the human body. In his Authors Show interview for his latest work, 'The Burly Man', Mr. Lewis discussed how this turn of events affected him then, and how it continues to affect his life today.

"I wrote this book," stated Mr. Lewis, "to help spread the awareness of auto - immune disease. I think readers will enjoy this book because it shows people that they can overcome incredible odds, even when faced with a life changing event."

'The Burly Man' gives readers an in-depth look at what it is like to be faced with something as life changing as an incurable disease. More than just a biographical journal, 'The Burly Man' is a love story, and a testament to one man's dedication to finding answers. After finding out how both diseases would affect him he came up with a daily fitness plan and daily exercise plan for people who deal with limited movement and range of motions issues. The fitness plan involved a special diet that allowed him to lose the 60 lbs. that he gained from being immobile for so many months, and a medication called prednisone. The exercise plan helped him to maintain and function on a daily basis through specially designed exercises. This special exercise, and fitness plan is called 'The Divine Spear & Intrinsic Staff of WEISHENDO'.

During this time, Mr. Lewis wrote a daily journal which he called: 'The Burly Man', detailing the events that led to his diagnosis of Polymyositis. Mr. Lewis's experience and dedication allowed him to take something negative and turn it into something positive by using his own techniques to help him fight against the illnesses that continue to plague his mind, body, and spirit.

Mr. Lewis has received 4-star, and 5-star rating reviews, (on a scale of 5) from two esteemed literary review companies. He was awarded 4-stars from Indie Reader Discovery Awards Contest and is currently ranked in the top three in the biography category. He was awarded 5-stars from Readers Favorite Book Reviews and Award Contest and advanced to the final round of judging.

Zachary Lewis is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at theburlyman@hotmail.com. 'The Burly Man' is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other outlets.

Zachary Lewis is the President and CEO of Weishendo Publications. He is the author of 'The Principles & Philosophy of Weishendo', 'The Divine Spear & Intrinsic Staff of WEISHENDO', and 'The Burly Man'. He also moderates an awareness group on Facebook called, R.A.I.D., which stands for 'Raising the Awareness of Auto-Immune Disease.' He is the creator of several YouTube channels, one dedicated to Weishendo, the other an official company channel that he uses to raise the awareness of auto immune disease through the power of multimedia.