A Letter to the Man Whose Family Gets the Worst of Him

Your family deserves the best version of you. And that version is you living a Christlike life.

There it is, the whole book in two sentences, and I put it first because you're a busy man and somebody may have handed you this book with a look on their face, and you deserve to know right away what you're holding.

Now let me tell you who's talking, because it matters. I'm not a pastor. I'm not a counselor. I'm a man, just like you. I have been where some of you are right now: in the pit, drunk all the time, angry, with rage issues my family navigated like weather. I have sinned. I have done horrible things to my family, the kind you don't put on a dust jacket. And I was still taken back, by my family and by God. That's my whole credential. I'm not writing from a stage. I'm writing from the far side of a pit, with the mud still on my boots, and everything in these pages is something I lived, broke, or watched God rebuild.

Here's what this book will not do, and I want it in writing before you spend an evening on me: this book will not fix your issues. No book can, including this one. What's in here is what I learned from my past, the hard way, at full price, and I know it will help you. But only God can heal you. Every chapter in here points at Him, hands you one small thing to actually do, and gets out of the way. If you're looking for five easy steps, give this to somebody else. If you're looking for the truth from a man who's been to the bottom of it, keep reading.

The book runs in three parts. The man first, because nothing else can be rebuilt while he's untouched. Then the husband. Then the father. Take them in order, do the small things at the end of each chapter, and don't rush. This took me years. The book is honest about that.

And one thing before any of it. If tonight is darker than a book can reach, call or text 988. If you're a veteran like me, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255. The page in the back has all of them. Start there, not here.

I fully believe God is waiting for you to turn back to Him. Not watching from a distance with His arms crossed. Waiting, the way I learned a father waits, and I pray you're ready to make the best choice of your life.

Don't forget: God loves you as you are. You don't have to clean up first.

Turn the page. I'll meet you in the truck.

Jake