In King of the Sky, you share your story of addiction and recovery as you trace your life experiences, moving through painful terrain from hidden sexuality and a challenging marriage to your journey to sobriety through faith. Why was this an important book for you to write?

The moments when I felt truly clear during my experience really stayed with me, and I knew I’d share this story someday. Eventually, I found the courage to take on the problem myself, realizing that if I wanted to help others, I had to take care of myself first. I saw so many others struggling and knew that there was a way out. The turning point came when I let go, said, “Okay, I’ll tell my story,” and made that a promise to God. My goal is that others will see themselves or someone they know going through similar feelings and that they can share and learn from what I did.

Your relationship with your family, particularly your early upbringing, plays an important role in shaping your identity. How did revisiting those memories change your perspective on your own story?

For years, I remembered sugarcoating my childhood, especially how I often felt at school. Being called out as different and accused of being gay, which was my deepest secret and fear. When I went back and really looked, I noticed I had hidden who I was for so long that it had become my identity, which I carried into adulthood, but it was no longer protecting me; it was holding me back. That changed it from something that happened to me into something I could finally understand. I stopped seeing a victim and started seeing a kid doing what felt like the best strategy to stay safe and connected where he was. It was emotional at times because the feelings were real, and they came back, but this time with clarity. I came out of it with a sense of freedom to be myself.

Throughout the memoir, you describe the gap between outward success and inner peace. Was exploring that contrast one of your main goals in writing the book?

One of my favorite lessons from A Course in Miracles says, “I could see peace instead of this.” Even though my main goal in writing this book was to show readers that there’s always a way forward, no matter where they are in life, especially when dealing with addiction, I truly believe that this idea of choosing to see things differently is key to our success, no matter what challenge we’re facing. So many of us are caught in the ego’s trap of looking outside of ourselves for happiness. Knowing that it was inside us all along comes only through the experience of actually deciding to look there.

If you could sit down with the younger version of yourself living in that Miami high-rise, what would you most want him to hear? 

You’ve got this, and you deserve all the good things you’ve already got and will get. In the book, I talked about how powerful the simple affirmation “I am strong” was for me. I would hope he could see himself differently, with inner strength, give himself the grace and space he needs, and go at his own pace. There’s no single right way to go, but finding joy in the journey and the path we’re on is the real gift that brings the most satisfaction. 

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