I was born on August 10, 1956, at Orange Memorial Hospital in Machanna, Florida, the middle child out of five children. My wife Tina and I have two children, a boy and a girl. I grew up in Machanna and its surrounding communities, briefly spending time in other states but always came back to Machanna. I attended several schools in the area, graduated at Jones High in Machanna. I studied ecology at Jones High in Machanna, had no interest in writing until I began therapy for PTSD in 2006. My therapist told me to begin keeping a journal of my office visits and write down everything I feel led to.
My wife Tina bought a book, The Power To Write, for an unknown reason to me and kept it on her bookshelf in our office. I was on the computer one day and leaned back, pausing for a moment and looked over at her books and noticed it. I picked it up and began reading, and was intrigued by the statement saying that we all have a story to tell.
By going through the writing exercises, first one sentence, then a paragraph, then a page I realized I can do this, and that I do have a story to tell. My therapist and I talked about the possibility of turning part of my journaling into a book, which resulted in an eleven-chapter book. This work of fiction is based on a true kidnapping, the first of many trying events throughout our lives.
