By Jeffery Camp
Telling humorous stories was always a pattern behind which I hid my true feelings and discomfort in social situations. This pattern was on full display during my time in the Process. Although I was able to recognize that this was a pattern that had served me well in dealing with wartime issues, it was affecting my relationships. At the Process, the teachers often called me out for telling humorous stories and using humor to keep others from knowing the real me.
The Small Group Challange
Consequently, I learned that I didn’t need to resort to humor in order to be liked. Even though this part of me found peace through the Process, I still enjoyed telling the stories. One evening, after telling the story that the book is named after, my Hoffman roommate suggested that I write a book about all my experiences. Since my day-to-day work was analytical and had very few creative outlets, I was challenged by my Process group with two creative items to work on: one, write a book and, two, learn how to play the bass guitar. I can report that thanks to the encouragement of my Process family, Is Goat Beef? is in print and I am learning the bass guitar!
The book combines humorous stories – mostly from my time in the military – along with a third creative love: cooking. To be completely honest, I didn’t have enough stories for a full book. Since I am not a well-known chef, I didn’t think I could publish a successful, stand-alone cookbook. So, voila – a hybrid story and recipe book was born.
Positive Humorous Stories
I truly owe the Hoffman Process and my Hoffman family much gratitude for giving me the tools and encouragement to write the book. By recognizing the amount of energy I was wasting by giving into these patterns, and then redirecting that energy in a positive way, it only took me three weeks to write Is Goat Beef?.
If you would like to purchase Is Goat Beef? or get more information, please visit www.isgoatbeef.com. (Editor’s note: For every book sold, Jeff is donating $1 from the proceeds to Paws for Purple Hearts, a canine-assisted therapy organization that provides service dogs to veterans with service-related injuries.)
Jeff Camp is a retired military veteran who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan during his 32-year career. He retired at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and earned a Bronze Star during each of his combat deployments.
He learned to cook first out of necessity and later out of desire, turning his hobby into his passion. After completing the Hoffman Process in the U.K. and encouraged by his classmates, Jeff wrote Is Goat Beef?, a compilation of life stories and recipes.
He currently lives in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with his wife Mari-Ann and their two cats.
For more information about Paws for Purple Hearts, please visit http://pawsforpurplehearts.org.
To learn more about Jeff, please visit www.jmcamp.com.