Who is this book for?

Who can benefit from reading this?

This book is for any person who has experienced a setback.  Perhaps a bankruptcy, a home foreclosure, a criminal background, an incarceration experience, job loss, career change, the loss of a business, or any of the many situations people face each and every day.

Some people recover and some don’t.  Recovery is a choice, and this book clearly delineates how those choices are made, and it demonstrates the reality that your future can be whatever you want it to be regardless of what challenges you are facing today.

A man named John was walking down the street and fell into a deep hole.  He tried for hours to climb out but couldn’t.  He could see people walking by and even though he yelled and screamed for help, no one would stop.  Then, he saw his doctor passing by.  “Doc!!!” he yelled.  His doctor stopped and peered down the hole as John yelled, “Doc, it’s me, John.  Can you help me?”  His doctor looked down the hole and yelled back, “Of course I can help John, after all, I’m a doctor.”  The doctor promptly wrote out a prescription for anti-anxiety medication and threw it down the hole.

After a little while longer, and still no one stopping to help, John noticed his attorney walking past.  “Counselor!!!” he yelled.  The attorney stopped and looked down the hole as John yelled, “Counselor, it’s me, John.  Can you help me?”  The attorney looked down the hole and yelled back, “Of course John, I can help.  After all, I’m an attorney.”  The attorney promptly wrote out a lawsuit against the city for the danger created by the hole in the sidewalk, filed it in the courthouse across the street, came back and threw a time-stamped copy of the complaint down the hole.

After a little while longer, and still no one stopping to help, he noticed his minister walking past.  “Reverend!!!” he yelled.  The minister stopped and looked down the hole as John yelled, “Reverend, it’s me, John.  Can you help me?”  The minister yelled back, “Of course son, I can help.  After all, I’m a minister.”  The minister promptly wrote out a prayer on a piece of paper and threw it down the hole.

John continued to try climbing out of the hole, but to no avail.  Finally, he noticed a friend walking by.  “Bob!!!” he yelled.  His friend stopped and looked down the hole as John yelled, “Bob, it’s me, John.  Can you help me?”  His friend yelled back, “How the heck did you get down there?”  John replied, “What difference does it make! I just need your help getting out.”

To John’s surprise, his friend then jumped down into the hole.  Now, with both men at the bottom of the hole, John looked at his friend and said, “You idiot, why did you jump down here?  Now we’re both stuck down here in this hole!”

John’s friend looked back at him and calmly said, “Yeah, I know.  But, I’ve been down in this hole before, and I know the way out.”

…Original story author unknown

I’m not going to coddle you, offer you prayers, medical advice or legal counsel.  Rather, I’m jumping down in your hole with you.  We’re at the bottom of the hole - together.  I’ve been down in the hole you’re in before and I know the way out.

I have something to teach you.  It only requires that you open up, be honest with yourself and be willing to consider an alternative life and direction.

I have lost count of how many times during my career I have heard someone say to me, “Dave, you should write a book.”  From the time I first got my private pilot certificate until I founded a corporation that built and operated a national Internet backbone network, countless people have suggested that I write a book - a rags to riches story, because I had risen from the ashes of adversity.

I never had a reason to write a book.  Most memoirs are written for ego and a few are written for some kind of historical record.  Writing a book for ego provided zero motivation, and I wouldn’t flatter myself by thinking that I altered history in any significant manner.

After reading an article in a local newspaper regarding the challenges that some people face after being released from prison, I began examining the programs and the support that is available to assist people with making a successful transition from prison into mainstream society.

Indeed the challenge of reentering mainstream society after incarceration is formidable, however it really is not indifferent then many of the other challenges people face - a bankruptcy, home foreclosure, loss of career, dramatic change in lifestyle and on and on.  Life is full of challenges no matter who you are.

Although reentering mainstream society after incarceration was among my challenges, throughout these pages you will see that I also faced and conquered many of the other challenges people face every day.  If a person wants to continue to move forward in life, then they must continuously be receptive to self-reinvention at any time.

Perhaps the most important message from this book is, "Yes, you can recover and have a rich and rewarding life, no matter what challenges you have or are currently facing.