After Survival is an inspiring memoir of resilience, faith, family, and personal growth that explores how surviving a life-threatening childhood accident shaped your journey toward finding meaning and purpose in life. Why was this an important book for you to write?

For most of my life, I never imagined writing a book. I certainly never considered my story any more important than anyone else’s. But as the years passed, I began reflecting on the extraordinary people, experiences, and choices that shaped the man I’d become.

When I was ten years old, a terrible accident nearly ended my life. My survival was nothing short of miraculous, but I’ve come to understand that surviving was only the beginning of my story.

The decades that followed brought tremendous blessings, heartbreaking losses, difficult choices, personal failures, and experiences that challenged my faith and understanding of life.

I wanted to preserve those experiences, especially the stories of people who stepped into my life when I needed them most. Some probably never realized the difference they made, yet their influence has remained with me for decades.

But there was another reason I felt compelled to write. I wanted readers to recognize something of themselves in my experiences.

We all endure hardships, make mistakes, experience loss, and encounter moments when we question the direction of our lives. We don’t always get to choose what happens to us, but we often have a choice in how we respond.

If my experiences can help someone find hope, extend forgiveness, recognize their own worth, or simply take another step forward, then sharing my story has served a worthwhile purpose.

2. What was the most challenging part of writing such a personal memoir?

The most difficult part wasn’t remembering what happened. It was allowing myself to experience those moments again and finding the courage to share them honestly.

Some memories brought tremendous happiness and gratitude. Others reopened wounds I thought had healed long ago.

Writing about the loss of my sister Michelle, the consequences of difficult decisions, and the pain experienced by people I loved required a level of vulnerability I hadn’t anticipated.

I also had to confront my own shortcomings. It’s one thing to tell a story about surviving something extraordinary. It’s quite another to acknowledge mistakes you’ve made, people you may have hurt, and lessons that sometimes take years to understand.

I didn’t want to portray myself as a hero or suggest that I’d somehow figured everything out. I wanted readers to see the life I’d lived, including the parts that weren’t particularly flattering.

There were times when the writing was emotionally exhausting. But those difficult moments often brought unexpected understanding, gratitude, and even healing.

I’ve come to appreciate that our struggles and imperfections are often where some of life’s most meaningful lessons are found.

3. What did your missionary experience in England teach you about compassion, service, and human connection?

Serving as a missionary in England from 1985 to 1987 was one of the most formative experiences of my life.

I went there as a young man believing I had something important to share with others. What I didn’t fully appreciate was how much those same people would teach me.

I met individuals from vastly different backgrounds, each carrying their own struggles, disappointments, hopes, and beliefs. Some welcomed us warmly, while others wanted nothing to do with us.

One of the most meaningful relationships I developed was with a man named Pat McConnell.

Pat struggled with alcoholism and circumstances that many people might have found difficult to understand. His life was complicated, and he had experienced considerable hardship. Yet beneath those struggles was a human being who deserved kindness, dignity, friendship, and the opportunity to make another choice.

I learned that genuine compassion requires looking beyond someone’s circumstances and recognizing their worth as a person.

Pat taught me lessons that have remained with me for nearly forty years. He helped me understand that service isn’t about what we expect to receive in return. Sometimes it’s simply about being present, listening without judgment, and offering someone a little hope when they may have lost sight of it themselves.

Perhaps one of the greatest lessons I learned was that we don’t always recognize the purpose behind the people who enter our lives.

Looking back, I realize that some of the people I thought I’d been sent to help were actually helping shape the rest of mine.

4. If readers remember just one lesson from your memoir, what would you want it to be?

That our past doesn’t have to determine our future.

Every one of us will face circumstances we didn’t choose. We’ll experience disappointment, grief, hardship, and sometimes the consequences of our own decisions.

We can’t always change what happened yesterday, but we still have a choice about what we do today.

I’ve come to believe that our lives aren’t defined by a single tragedy, failure, or even a remarkable moment of survival. They’re shaped by the choices we make afterward, often in the quiet, ordinary moments when nobody else is watching.

And sometimes, the smallest act of kindness can change the direction of someone else’s life in ways we may never fully understand.

My faith has taught me that we’re never beyond the reach of hope, forgiveness, or the opportunity to choose again.

If someone finishes AFTER SURVIVAL with a little more hope, a greater willingness to forgive, or the determination to take one more step forward, then sharing my story has been worthwhile.

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