Happy Elvis | About the Author

About the Author

Kristi Weldon is a Wellness Expert and Elvis Aficionado. She describes how she wrote the book:

I used my skills as a researcher to identify and analyze credible primary and secondary sources (people who knew Elvis or people who had published research about Elvis). As a wellness consultant, I was able to recognize impactful strategies for everyday living. Then I utilized my talents as a writer and editor to communicate the information in an entertaining yet meaningful format. It was through this process that the book came to fruition.

Wellness

As a child, Kristi was healthy aside from chronic ear infections and the occasional virus. At age 10, she had her first "Hay Fever" attack; it lasted two weeks. And came back every two weeks after that. She was eventually diagnosed with vaso-motor rhinitis, or hypersensitive neurons in her nose. She managed to maintain her grades through junior high and high school fighting through a haze of anti-histamines with Diet Coke and Mountain Dew.

In college, the situations worsened: repeated chemistry, calculus, and history exams (always on the same day) were too much when her nose ran like a faucet when she tilted her head forward to write her answers. The alternative was trying to focus and race the clock with a body full of cold medicine. The stress was too much, and she eventually developed digestive, intestinal, and other health issues.

Frustrated with the limitations of traditional Western medicine, it was during this time that she purchased her first book on the mind-body connection: Minding the Body, Mending the Mind by Joan Borysenko. As she slowly began to heal her body one ailment at a time, Kristi discovered that stress could shift its manner of expression when symptoms were suppressed with medication. For example, after colitis symptoms were treated with medications to bring them under control, she then developed migraines. Later, side effects of a different medication caused her to develop TMJ. It was then that the limitations of Western medicine led Kristi to visit her first alternative care practitioner. With one chiropractic adjustment to her neck, she was able to open her mouth, talk, and eat "real" food again.

Kristi was so pleased with the results of her first "experiment" in alternative medicine that she began collecting a library of resources. She also tried various treatments for conditions on the recommendations of friends and experts. What she first approached out of desperation and as a skeptic, she now embraces. She even became a certified Reiki Master, now providing care to others.

Kristi currently uses a complementary approach of Western, Eastern, and alternative medicine to maintain her health. This includes proper diet, regular exercise, chiropractic adjustments, Reiki, meditation, occasional cleansing, and some OTC (over the counter) and prescription medications. Her digestive and colitis symptoms have disappeared to the point that she was "undiagnosed" by her specialist. Her asthma and allergy symptoms have improved. Migraines are now a rarity. In short, Kristi is now stronger and healthier than she has been in years.

Wellness advisor since 1997
Background in biology and Western medicine, including Work/Studies completed in biochemistry lab (staph vaccine) at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and hospital observations and research at Baptist Montclair
Gorgas Science Foundation Scholarship Recipient
Reiki Master and student of other Eastern healing techniques and philosophies
14 years research experience ranging from lab setting to interviews to focus groups to syndicated data

Elvis, in her own words

From the Introduction to Health and Happiness Elvis Style,

My earliest memories of Elvis are of extremes. I was born May 1, 1971. The first Elvis album I ever owned was On Stage: February 1970, a gift from my cousin Linda. My favorite song was Runaway, and I knew every lyric on the album by heart, even at age five. I remember dancing with my mom, dad, and sister on the reddish-orange shag carpet in our den. Elvis was a family affair, especially for the women, even in our extended family.

I recall with awe the release of the Moody Blue album and the vibrant translucence of the cobalt vinyl. I can even now relive the fun of trying to imitate J. D. Sumner’s bass vocals on Way Down. I also still see the album being gently pulled from my young, careful fingers – that were only touching the edges - for their fear of my scratching it.

When Elvis died on August 16, 1977, my sister and I were sent outside to play while our mother sat inside sobbing, slumped over beside the radio for hours or perhaps days. I was six and consoled myself in the driveway crying and singing Runaway and Sweet Caroline. Mom then told us that the next time Elvis was coming to Birmingham, she had planned to take us. Some part of me is still grieving that loss.

At age 35, I had just returned from my first Elvis Week and my first tour of Graceland. I had always been a music-lover (I’m told I knew Merle Haggard and his lyrics at age three) so to say the experience was overwhelming is a bit of an understatement: like so many, it quite literally changed my life.

I found myself in tears just taking in the enormity of it all. And it was while sitting in the Elvis Insiders Conference listening to the speakers that I started writing. I had already been taking notes on the presentations – I mean really writing: about what we can all learn from Elvis.

He was a willing and unwilling pioneer. He was a leader and a regular guy. He was a cut-up and a gentleman. And he was blessed with gifts that when shared, put him in a position that no ordinary person would be equipped to deal with. Elvis was only human and was held up by others like a god. Like any of us, he did the best he could with what he had.

So what can we learn from Elvis’ life so we can all grow as people? Well, I believe that Elvis would want us to look, learn, and move on to become the best individuals we can be. I can only hope that I have accurately interpreted the spirit of Elvis and that applying the knowledge in the book to your life makes you a better person. I know for a fact he believed in making the world a better place. I hope this makes him proud.