Fulton native pens book on overcoming adversity
ITHACA — Tim Conners, the Fulton native whose battle against cancer spurred a campaign to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro in support of multiple charities, has released his first book chronicling his inspirational journey.
Conners, 22, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic lymphoma in 2010 during his freshman year of high school. The disease would take his sight, and the grueling treatment isolated him from all but his closest family as his immune system recovered.
But Conners refused to give up — he beat his cancer, and in so doing gained a perspective on life he felt was his privilege and duty to share.
Conners will graduate this spring from Ithaca College with a degree in Communication Studies and has spent the last few years cris-crossing the United States as a featured speaker at conferences and symposiums.
“Ever since everything I’ve faced, people have joked around and said I should write a book and I always thought, ‘yeah, I’ll do that,’ but never did,” Conners said.
With his busy schedule as a motivational speaker and full-time student, work on the project came in fits and starts, but in the late summer, he was finally able to concentrate his efforts on crafting his story.
“I took what I had learned in my life about accomplishing what I wanted, and I decided I didn’t want my book to be talk anymore. I was going to do it,” Conners said.
Earlier this month, Conners released that book, entitled “It’s Impossible Until You Do It,” which tells his story and lays out his unique philosophy from a life steeped in challenges and hope.
Conners said the book contains what he calls “enlightening tools to overcome adversity and be successful, no matter what that is.”
“It’s important for people to read it and reflect and take a different outlook on how they see their world,” Conners added.
Throughout his travels, Conners developed his ambitious plan to raise funds and awareness for five organizations he says helped him through his recovery to support other battling similar circumstances.
One of Conners’ mentors has been Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to climb Mount Everest. While spending time with Weihenmayer, Conners came up with his own plan — to summit Africa’s highest peak.
He founded the MounTimPossible, his fundraising organization dedicated to what he calls “The Mission” — traveling to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.
The journey is planned for next summer and will no doubt be arduous, but with all Conners has overcome in the past, it’s unlikely anything will stand in his way.
“I knew I wanted to include my story of overcoming cancer,” said Conners about writing the book. “I knew I wanted to include information people could apply to their lives that I learned firsthand worked; and I knew I wanted most of all to create something that was going to help people all over the world in their lives so they could overcome their own challenges.”
Conners will donate portions of the proceeds from his book, along with other sustained fundraising efforts “The Mission” will generate exposure for, to The Make-A-Wish Foundation, Golisano Children’s Hospital, No Barriers, The Joe Andruzzi Foundation and Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation.
“It’s Impossible Until You Do It” is self-published by Conners and his family and available for purchase on Amazon.com.
For more information about Tim and the organizations his Mount Kilimanjaro odyssey seeks to support, visit www.mountimpossible.com.