After having produced 8 CD’s and traveled across the world performing music, I am so honored to be releasing my first book. By Faith, Not By Sight is the story of my life. But much like my life-story, the realization of this book did not happen overnight.
If you look past the glamour and excitement of my story being wrapped up in a colorful, eye-catching, hardcover book to be sold in Walmarts and bookstores everywhere, you would find an “artistic-looking” guy with a half-shaven beard, messy hair, sitting at a small, 3-foot-wide foldable TV tray, working through edits till 4 in the morning night after night. 😛
Yes…I wrote my entire book on a TV tray! And I was being generous when I said “artistic-looking…” Can you picture it? Between moving into new surroundings after getting married and the constant pressure of book deadlines, I discovered I must be somewhat of a minimalist. I was so driven in writing this book but too distracted to care about having a real desk to put my laptop on. And so I wrote.
The hardest part of telling my life-story was knowing where to start. There have been so many moments throughout my life which would’ve served as jumping off points, including my final night on American Idol , but the book begins with a surprising pivotal moment that I think few readers will expect. A moment that defined my life in a very profound way. It was college graduation day, and I was graduating at 19 years old. I had so much to look forward to, my dreams were coming to life more than ever before. Then in one moment, everything changed and I was filled with fear.
If you watched me on American Idol, you may think you know my life-story. But what you saw on the show was just a small part of who I am and what I’ve faced. It is my hope that in reading By Faith, Not By Sight, you will be inspired all over again – to overcome any obstacle and reach for your biggest dreams.