Reviews & In The News
POD Critic (4/18/07)
Romance, Riches, and Restrooms: A Cautionary Tale of Ambitious Dreams and Irritable Bowels—A Review
“Tim Phelan’s Romance, Riches, and Restrooms treats us to something quite rare: we get to peer into the mind and life of an individual who, through this unabashed memoir, allows us to become intimately familiar with him, and his “functional” disorder. Peppered with humor and the hilarious situations experienced by the author, the book expertly demonstrates the great burden shouldered by IBS sufferers, who must daily walk a tightrope of social scrutiny that no human being should be forced to.
The author’s struggles with the disorder are penned with a rare precision that is at times enrapturing—given the level of writing—and at times as suspenseful as anything I’ve read in a good mystery. Some scenes will leave you on the edge of your seat, like the one that had me wondering whether Phelan, his bowels suddenly acting up, would end up soiling himself in the driver’s seat of a car while trapped on a highway with a gorgeous and unsuspecting blonde riding shotgun.
In short, the book is an impressive contribution that is as important for its subject matter as for its entertainment value.”
Read the review in its entirety at POD Critic
IBS Tales (3/14/2007)
Sophie Lee reviews Romance, Riches, and Restrooms
“Romance, Riches and Restrooms is a very well-written, funny and intelligent book that anyone with IBS will identify with. I would highly recommend it to all IBS sufferers. And if I had the power I would make all the loved ones of IBSers read it as well, as it is a fantastic explanation of how IBS can slowly take control of almost all aspects of your life, however successful or intelligent or confident you are when you first start getting symptoms.”
Read the rest of Sophie’s review
iUniverse Book Reviews (3/12/2007)
Romance, Riches, and Restrooms
“Aside from training for the big triathlon, chasing girls, trying to build a high-powered career, successfully building a high-powered neurosis, and single-handedly keeping Pepto-Bismol in business, he found the time to write a book. It was a book only he could write, and no one else dared to write. The jokes are numerous, and the embarrassing moments, as well as a bunch of other stuff, are out of control…The author has it bad and he will try anything at least once. If you think Steve Martin and Sarah Jessica Parker had a funny scene in L. A. Story, then Romance, Riches, and Restrooms will leave you rolling on the floor. Try not to laugh while you read the book in your personal library room. You might not want to roll on that floor!”
Read “Tabitha’s” entire review
Gut Reaction: The Journal of The IBS Network (3/2007)
Review of Romance, Riches, and Restrooms by Neil Davey
“I recommend this book as a good informative read, which will make you laugh and empathise with the character…It also offers an insight into various therapies and hope that one might offer if not a cure, a way forward to live with irritable bowel syndrome…I was stuck by the fact that he was so concerned about what other people would think of him and he would do anything to conceal his constant need for the toilet. His anxiety about not being near to toilet facilities, or a restroom as he put it, gradually unfolds throughout the book and starts to take over his life. The fact that he is so ashamed of this embarrassing disorder and cannot admit it to anyone, including a doctor, reflects the attitude of many people, particularly men.”
To read Neil Davey’s full review in the Spring 2007 issue of Gut Reaction, click here
US News & World Report (9/15/2006)
Conversation: How irritable bowel syndrome took over Tim Phelan’s life
“In 1988, Tim Phelan was an ambitious new college grad with a degree in French and economics. He dreamed of becoming a successful international businessman–but his life took quite a different turn, thanks to his overactive bowels. Through more than a decade of battling what he would eventually find out was irritable bowel syndrome, he lost a job and several relationships, unwilling to discuss his symptoms with anyone and obsessed with never being far from a bathroom. Now 39, he is able to speak frankly about his travails with IBS-and recently did with U.S. News-and has shared lessons learned in a new book, Romance, Riches, and Restrooms: A Cautionary Tale of Ambitious Dreams and Irritable Bowels (iUniverse, $19.95).”
Click here to read the entire interview.
The Suburban and Wayne Times (8/17/2006)
Making Light of Dark Times
“Nobody leaves this world without regrets. At 39, Tim Phelan already has a big one - that he spent what could have been carefree and prosperous post-college years in an ever-present state of anxiety where he eschewed career and personal opportunities. But why? What could have befallen such an intelligent, handsome and athletic guy?”
Read the rest of the profile here.
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (7/16/2006)
“Romance, Riches, and Restrooms” skillfully entertains while sharing effects of syndrome
“Romance, Riches, and Restrooms” is one of the year’s most entertaining, enlightening, and courageous memoirs…”
Douglas Daily News (9/29/2006)
Book Discusses Humor, Difficulties of Irritable Bowels
The Health Show (9/28/2006)
Fun with IBS
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is no laughing matter. At least, it wasn’t until Tim Phelan came along. Along with more than 50 million other Americans, Tim suffers from IBS. But unlike most of those others, he’s been able to mine some humor from his condition. The result is the book “Romance, Riches and Restrooms: A Cautionary Tale of Ambitious Dreams and Irritable Bowels.”
Listen to the interview using Real Audio
Authors One on One (9/22/2006)
Romance, Riches, and Restrooms featuring Tim Phelan
Original Article | Listen to the Podcast
“The Visiting Hour with Dr. Brent Ridge” (6/16/2006)
Martha Stewart Living, Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 112
“Tim Phelan brings attention to a problem most of us would prefer to not talk about. By discussing IBS in an honest, self-deprecating, and humorous way, he has provided a valuable service for the millions who suffer in silence.”
More recent interviews:
- “Talk of the Sun Coast” with Cliff Roles (9/15/2006) News Talk 1220 - Sarasota, Florida
- “Talk of the Town” with Jim Buchanan (7/26/2006) WICC - Bridgeport, Connecticut
- “Bush Medicine” with Dr. Sunyatta Amen (7/6/2006) WPFW - Washington, DC
- “Your Health is What Matters” with Jimmie Lewis, Jr. (7/1/2006) WFNC - Fayetteville, North Carolina
- “Let’s Talk” with Mike Moore (6/21/2006) WLOE/WMYN - Greensboro, North Carolina
- “The Jane and Kidd Show” (6/12/2006) WMYX - Milwaukee, Wisconsin