From the Author
If you've ever burned your life down, sabotaged your own success, or found yourself staring into a darkness of your own making—this book is for you.
I wrote The Path of Rocks and Thorns because I needed to tell the truth. Not just the kind of truth that looks good in a redemption arc, but the kind that still stings when I say it out loud. I've lived through mental illness, addiction, the slow death of shame, and nearly six years in prison. I know what it's like to lose everything—including your own sense of worth.
But I also know what it's like to rebuild. To find freedom in the last place you'd expect. And to lead—not in spite of your scars, but because of them.
This book isn't a blueprint. It's not a twelve-step formula or a neat motivational package. It's messy. It's vulnerable. And if I'm being honest, parts of it made me sick to write. But I didn't want to gloss over the hard parts—because I believe that's where real leadership begins.
If you see yourself anywhere in these pages, I hope you won't look away. I hope you'll keep going. If you're rebuilding something—your career, your sobriety, your faith in yourself—I hope this book feels like someone walking alongside you, not above you.
And if it inspires you to write your own story, even better. That would be the coolest thing of all.
—Doug
From the Author
If you've ever burned your life down, sabotaged your own success, or found yourself staring into a darkness of your own making—this book is for you.
I wrote The Path of Rocks and Thorns because I needed to tell the truth. Not just the kind of truth that looks good in a redemption arc, but the kind that still stings when I say it out loud. I've lived through mental illness, addiction, the slow death of shame, and nearly six years in prison. I know what it's like to lose everything—including your own sense of worth.
But I also know what it's like to rebuild. To find freedom in the last place you'd expect. And to lead—not in spite of your scars, but because of them.
This book isn't a blueprint. It's not a twelve-step formula or a neat motivational package. It's messy. It's vulnerable. And if I'm being honest, parts of it made me sick to write. But I didn't want to gloss over the hard parts—because I believe that's where real leadership begins.
If you see yourself anywhere in these pages, I hope you won't look away. I hope you'll keep going. If you're rebuilding something—your career, your sobriety, your faith in yourself—I hope this book feels like someone walking alongside you, not above you.
And if it inspires you to write your own story, even better. That would be the coolest thing of all.
—Doug
