Willie D. Jones

Jones, a technology writer and editor turned novelist, Leto coach, and public speaker, is a new man. At age 49, he made himself a promise: By the time he blew out the candles on his 50th birthday cake, he would cure himself of Type 2 diabetes, radically improve the cardiovascular health markers that suggested he was a heart attack waiting to happen, and lose the pounds he’d been struggling (and failing) to shed since he was a fat kid. He kept his promise, and now he wants the tens of millions of people whose lives are being slowly snuffed out by diabetes to do follow his lead. His latest book, “Beating Diabetes,” chronicles his road to sickness and obesity, as well as the path he took to wellness and weight loss. Says Jones, “If I did it, anyone can.”