You are about to experience my life through insanity, addiction, recovery, success, and reinvention from 1984 to 2026. This is a raw and unfiltered account of what actually happened. I tell you how chaotic my life was, how badly I unraveled at times, the reckless choices I made, how deep my alcoholism went, and how constantly I tried to escape from myself. You will follow my childhood, college years, time as a police officer, graduate school, marriage and fatherhood, getting sober through Alcoholics Anonymous, spiraling in new ways, and eventually building an online following that reached over a billion views before walking away to write books like this.

Working through these pages helped me see something clearly: I created this life one decision at a time. The first half of this book shows how I wrecked myself through addiction and constant escape, first with video games, then alcohol, then achievement and distraction. The second half is about unraveling those patterns. If you have struggled with screens, drinking, compulsive behavior, being overweight, feeling out of control, or wondering what the point of life is, I have lived that. I share what it was like to gain and lose weight, to drink compulsively, to build a marriage that felt strong and then watch it strain under the weight of who I was becoming.

I believe in being the change I want to see in the world. This book shows the changes I have lived through. I hope one day my kids read it and see both the traps I fell into and the way out. I am grateful you are here. Thank you for taking this journey with me.