A Mad Box of Rain shares your story of surviving and recovering from the sexual, physical, emotional, mental, institutional, and substance abuse you experienced in your childhood and teenage years. Why was this an important book for you to write?

I recently wrote this as a wedding gift for my second wife and her two teen children. I also have two teen sons. I found it difficult to verbally communicate with them about past abuses and struggles as a teen; and they had no real understanding of what growing up in Memphis in the 1980s meant, seeing that we live in Portland, Oregon. I wrote the book in six months, and I think it does a decent job explaining this to them. Mom and wife were the main editors.

How did you decide what to include and leave out in your memoir?

There were a lot of euphemisms that I took out based on the advice of a senior editor. I also had to change the names of a lot of the characters in order to protect their anonymity. I left out or changed a few details as well in order to continue the protection. It was very important to me not to break any innocent’s anonymity.

What was the most challenging part of writing your memoir, and what was the most rewarding?

The most challenging was opening myself up fully to the reader about my thoughts and feelings going through a lot of the abuse I endured. I had to be raw and honest with myself. Those feelings were not easy to feel. The most rewarding was the closeness I felt towards loved ones who supported me through this. I truly felt encouraged and loved. I was also very excited to be a finalist in this year’s Storytrade Book Awards.

What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your story?

That overcoming adversity makes you a stronger and better person. Don’t settle, be the good person you were meant to be. Don’t let anyone ever take that away from you.

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