Bull Durham is the youngest of seven children physically, emotionally, and verbally abused at the hands of their parents, but his sisters had it far worse. His father left him with a lifelong seizure disorder after inflicting blunt force trauma to his head, and his mother let her boyfriend physically abuse him, but her cruel words left him with emotional scars that were more damaging than anything else. This is his real-life story about the parents that emotionally, verbally, and physically abused him.
Your book “Seven Broken Souls” tells a deeply personal story. What inspired you to share this story?
I had multiple people tell me I should write a book and I always shrugged it off, even my therapists had told me I should write a book. What truly inspired me to write this book were two things I learned in recovery. When you share your struggles with others it cuts your pain in half. I have a great deal of pain inside and I needed to get it out.
During the recovery process, I was hit with something I didn’t see coming, most of my siblings were triggers for me and I couldn’t be around them. I also tried unsuccessfully for three years to let the pain of my former employer Wells Fargo roll off my back, but I couldn’t. I needed my voice to be heard.
During my recovery, I became a leader within the Celebrate Recovery Program and one of the principles that I learned/taught others is that once you go through recovery it’s your responsibility to help others that are still struggling because I didn’t gain my sobriety on my own.
So I’m writing this to help others that worked for Wells Fargo and suffered as I did, mostly it’s for my family. Even though I have lost most of them, I wanted this book to be successful to help show them there is a better way to live life without the demons they have inside.
Writing a book like this one, which is full of so much raw personal truth, is not for the faint of heart. While you were writing this book did you learn anything new about yourself that you can share with our readers?
Answer- I learned a lot about myself during the time I was writing this book. the best and biggest thing I learned is that I’m a good person and I am finally able to say I love myself, it took 43 years for me to be able to say that. The pain I had compartmentalized suddenly reappeared but in a different form. I found myself writing in a plain white t-shirt and after about six or seven hours of writing my shirt was dripping wet with sweat. Now that I’m not abusing alcohol and I confront those that have hurt me I notice my anxiety is at an all-time high. I’m healthier than I have ever been, but I struggle more to cope with the residual side effects of my parent’s abuse. I have not done a great job at this and I will have to learn how to manage in my new life.
What are you hoping that the fans take away from your book?
Answer- If they are suffering that there are people, places, and programs to help them. I really hope that men, in general, read this book or it gets shared with them somehow and take it to heart that a real man does seek therapy or counseling when needed. It’s not a sign of weakness as they may have been taught. I applaud those men and women that have served in our military and realize they have had to learn to compartmentalize when they serve and they need to unlearn this when they come back home.
When you’re not writing what are you doing to relax and get in some chill time?
I like to be active outdoors whether that is running my dogs, biking, kayaking, or hiking. I love the mountains of Colorado, live music, and eating really good local food. I’m a volunteer of the dog recuse R.R.U.S. (Ridgeback Rescue of the United States) and I have been fostering, transporting, and volunteering time with this group for a couple of years and enjoy it very much. I’m also a very big fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes basketball, football, and wrestling programs.
Do you have another project or book in the works you can tell us about?
Answer- Because I have been in fight or flight mode for 35 years I’ve never really had a dream and now this book has become my dream and I’d like to see how far I can take it. I’m going to try and make this book into a movie and looking for the right person to help me with this massive undertaking. I can also see a portion of this book becoming a TV show, but one thing at a time. I think it would be extremely helpful and cathartic for my siblings to write a book about their experiences to piggyback off of mine, but it’s very difficult to open up as I have.
His book, Seven Broken Souls, is available on Amazon.
To learn more about the book, check out its official website.
