Bobby Bones' book was added to our website because of his fight to overcome growing up with parents addicted to drugs and alcohol and out of poverty. We encourage you to read his books. You will be inspired by his story and the concepts and skills that made his success possible

Bobby Bones was born and raised in Arkansas as the result of a teenage pregnancy. His mom had him at 15 years of age and his father was 17 at the time. By the time Bobby was five years old his father left the family and never returned. Bobby lived with his mother and grandmother most of his life. As a result of his mother's continued drug abuse, Bobby was legally adopted by his grandmother, Hazel Hurt.

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However, Bobby was a very good student and made good grades.  Bobby became the first in his family to graduate high school. And, he went on to graduate college as well. At 17, he got his first job job in the on campus radio station at Henderson State University where he would graduate with a BA degree.

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Bones decided early on that he would never drink or do drugs.

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And today his achievements are incredible! His radio show is on over 110 stations across the nation. He also won the 27th season of Dancing with the stars in 2018 and was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame during a ceremony on November 2, 2017.  At the age of 38 years old, Bobby has a net worth of over $7 million.

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#1 New York Times Bestseller

A touching, funny, heart-wrenching, and triumphant memoir from one of the biggest names in radio, the host of The Bobby Bones Show, one of the most listened-to drive time morning radio shows in the nation.

Growing up poor in Mountain Pine, Arkansas, with a young, addicted mom, Bobby Estell fell in love with country music. Abandoned by his father at the age of five, Bobby saw the radio as his way out—a dream that came true in college when he went on air at the Henderson State University campus station broadcasting as Bobby Bones, while simultaneously starting The Bobby Bones Show at 105.9 KLAZ. Bobby’s passions were pop, country music, and comedy, and he blended the three to become a tastemaker in the country music industry, heard by millions daily. Bobby broke the format of standard country radio, mixing country and pop with entertainment news and information, and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the business, including Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, and Jason Aldean.

Yet despite the glamour, fame, and money, Bobby has never forgotten his roots, the mom and grandmother who raised him, the work ethic he embraced which saved him and encouraged him to explore the world, and the good values that shaped him. In this funny, poignant memoir told in Bobby’s distinctive patter, he takes fans on a tour of his road to radio. Bobby doesn’t shy away from the curves he continues to navigate—including his obsessive-compulsive disorder—on his journey to find the happiness of a healthy family.

Funny and tender, raw and honest, Bare Bones is pure Bobby Bones—surprising, entertaining, inspiring, and authentic.

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Quotes from "Fail Until You Don't" -

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"But the one thing nobody can say about me is that I was born with an easy pass to life. When I started my career in a radio market so small it was unrated, it was a huge achievement for me. I knew no one and had no money. Every move I made was a risk. Some of my gambles failed. A lot didn’t. But no matter, for over a decade, I always showed up—for twelve-, fourteen-, eighteen-hour workdays." (page 51)

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"My mom, who struggled her entire life with alcohol and drug addiction, had a hard time holding down a job and often left me in the care of my grandmother for long stretches. For years I resented the fact that I was a food-stamps kid, a head-lice student, a connoisseur of the finest welfare checks. I hated it. I blamed everyone around me, and I loathed other kids with the flimsiest of safety nets, because I had none. I never saw this uncertainty for the strength it gave me." (page 18)

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"Enthusiasm is my way of combating the fact that I’m never the most talented, smartest, or anything-est person in the room—or profession, while we’re at it." (page 51)

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"made my lock screen my new goal: “Pay attention, be perceptive, and always write it down.” See it. See it. See it. Achieve it."" (page 69)

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"The way I grew up—with a mom whose addictions were so bad I was adopted by my grandmother—created conflicts that are hard to get over (yup, I’ve had a lot of therapy)." (56)

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"If you know anything about me, you know that being on time and being prepared are two things I excel at. Talent is not a big ingredient of my success; it’s showing up, over and over again (even when nobody wants me there) and being better prepared each time." (75)

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"I don’t even let myself have options, because I’m bad with options. I know myself; if I have them, I’ll just make mistakes. So, I eat the same food every day for breakfast and lunch—and usually dinner, too. (Sometimes I have to do work events, and for some reason they don’t like you to bring your own food from home for those kinds of things.) Literally (that’s right), the same exact mea" (117)

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