Hamburger Heart

Dignity, hope, and love from your hands and knees.

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  • 📌 Welcome!

    📌 Welcome!

    My name is David. A little over ten years ago, my life took a drastic turn when I found myself being wheeled through the emergency department at my local hospital. After a long year of running conflicts at work and home, I pushed myself beyond my limits and collapsed on the floormats of a martial arts center. My first heart attack revealed three major blockages of my coronary arteries. The following weeks of my life became entirely about survival, and the passing years saw me surrender every long-held dream I had for my life.

    Hamburger Heart is the story of my journey through a critical point where my non-stop struggle to survive collides with the distillation of all my ambitions from my former life into the one true dream I had for myself since I was a kid. I take the chance and risk everything on an impossible quest to hold on and heal my permanently broken heart. It’s a story filled with spectacular failure, unrelenting uncertainty, and tiny glimmers of hope that sees me everywhere from drooling on the floor to standing triumphantly on top of snow-covered mountain peaks.

    From finding love to the devastation of good bye, I try to connect the dots in my life while constantly dodging pitfalls, pushing past setbacks, and navigating non-stop medical crises. Somewhere along the way I meet a really cool dog that stays with me through blizzards, experimental treatments, fad diets, and honestly has this great and important story all on her own. I often get the feeling that I shouldn’t still be here, but I am. I hope that you’ll find something good in our story that you can take away as your own.

    This blog is organized into a few categories, please feel free to browse around. My book is available on Amazon.com as a paperback or for Kindle. Please reach out if you’re one of the nicknamed characters in my book if you’d like a personalized copy. We’re always happy to hear from you.

    David Avatar
    David
  • I’ve Published

    I’ve Published

    It’s been two years in the making and I can’t believe that I’m such a big slacker, but you can now order a copy of my book. Within the next few weeks I’ll also make Hamburger Heart available on Kindle and record the audiobook version. The most difficult thing about this whole process was the level of introspection required to write the story about what already happened in my life, of which I am now doubly over. I highly doubt I will ever make enough money to recover the costs, but thankfully, I wrangled my manuscript until I felt like having it printed.

    Hamburger Heart on Amazon.com

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GTMBS88M

    I’ll be posting some snippets and profiles of the personalities in my book. For everyone that was waiting, thank you for your support. I’ll reach out to the folks I have a signed copy for, but I certainly won’t hold it against you if you order another copy anyway. I receive a couple bucks from the sale of each paperback so I won’t be complaining. In the coming weeks I’ll also publish for Kindle and record the audiobook version.

    Oh, and one more thing. The people mentioned in my book are referred to by generic nicknames. There are many people that are just as important to me as the ones in my novel that I chose not to write about because I limited talking about other people to the ones I felt were essential to telling the intended story of Hamburger Heart. I also hired a trusted editor to evaluate the fairness of my representation of the people in my book. Don’t worry, Hamburger Heart is no diss track.

    Oh, and there are some pictures in the back. I know some of you just need to know and that’s okay too.

    David Avatar
    David

  • Restaurant Order: Chick-fil-A Cobb Salad

    This one’s pretty easy: the Cobb salad minus the roasted corn, minus the crispy peppers, with grilled nuggets, with two avocado lime ranch dressings, add black pepper. It’s honestly a whole meal at just over 900 calories. You can play a little bit with the ingredients or drop one of the two 310 calorie dressings.

    Beware, the diet lemonade/tea at Chick-fil-A is NOT sugar free – it’s just reduced sugar/carbs. They do offer Coke Zero and other products for a carb-free beverage.

    David Avatar
    David
  • Restaurant Order: Breadless Cheesesteak

    Restaurant Order: Breadless Cheesesteak

    One of my go-to restaurant orders on keto, wherever a decent cheesesteak was offered, is the breadless cheesesteak. Arguably, the most critical part of a cheesesteak, especially a Philly cheesesteak, is the roll. While diehards will insist on the OG Amoroso’s hearth-baked Italian roll, any thin crust, pan-less sandwich roll serves as the main interface that connects you with the heart of the meal. So how is it without the bread?

    My home bar is pretty used to preparing this order. One Philly cheesesteak with everything in it, no bread, add lettuce and tomato. Steamed veggies for the side. And sometimes I’ll try another topping like the sliced avocado in the photo (my server said they got in a really good batch).

    How is it without the bread? It’s not as good! But it’s still quite satisfying. I enjoy eating this with a fork, especially with the mushrooms, peppers, and onions cooked into the meat, it feels like a homecooked meal.

    David Avatar
    David