I left the shelter in Minneapolis on a cold February morning. I took the light rail to the airport and flew to South Carolina to be with the woman I met online. It wasn’t long before she started getting after me to write a book about how we met and our relationship.
I have been struggling to get the book written ever since. A few years ago, I started a YouTube channel to promote my writing on Medium.com. The channel evolved into an advice and counselling medium. I’m the reluctant counsellor.
I might have something to offer after all
I had an epiphany the other night. The memoir in itself isn’t interesting, but what if I combined it with life advice? I could write about my poor decisions and include guidance for anyone going through what I did.
God knows I made enough mistakes to fill a book. Please make no mistake, I was homeless. Not only because of bad breaks, but also because I wasn’t focused on the right things. The plan is to start on the rewrite in earnest and give weekly updates in my newsletter. As the writing goes along, I will include sample chapters as well.
Writing a book isn’t easy, who knew?
I knew writing a book was hard, but I underestimated how hard it was to focus and have time to write uninterrupted. If I want to be a published author, I will need to learn discipline. I can write a high word count as long as I’m not distracted. That’s hard to do when my wife is awake.
People find homelessness interesting. It is if you’re a troublemaker, substance abuser, or stupid. I did my best to keep my head down and my nose clean. I had my eyes and ears open. Hopefully, I have something useful to share.
Final Thought:
We all have made mistakes. If we can find a way to help people using the lessons we learned, the mistakes are worth it. Learn the lesson so you don’t repeat the mistake.
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