When preparing to write this bio, I paused for a few minutes and made a mental checklist of my accomplishments. It sounded good to me. I've had a pretty successful recording career, touring North America, the UK and most of Europe. As a keynote speaker, I've been to youth conferences around the world, covering just about every controversial and taboo subject you can think of. Yet when I sat down at the computer to begin writing, suddenly, it didn't look too flattering. I mean, leaving home at fourteen, spending time in halfway houses and juvenile hall and having no more than a grade ten education wouldn't look good on any resume.

After moping around and trying to figure a way around having to write it, it finally dawned on me. Those were the very experiences that contributed to my success as both a songwriter and speaker. Not that I'm advocating dropping out of school or encouraging anybody to start using drugs. I just believe it gives me perspective. Like an ex-cop writing a detective novel or an ex-mob guy writing a book about organized crime, my background lends itself to my story, youth gone wild.

Born in Canada, I grew up in a home much like that of Jack, my principal character. We had ketchup soup and mustard sandwiches, a mother struggling to control her three boys, and an abusive father who constantly reeked of alcohol. After being bounced from one foster home to another, by age fourteen I'd had enough and decided to make it on my own.

For the next few years, I crashed wherever I could and did pretty much whatever it took to feed myself and support my habit, shoplifting, B&E's, even prostitution. At seventeen I found myself lying in a hospital bed from a drug overdose and eventually in a halfway house on the road to recovery.

As part of the healing process I was encouraged to search for a way to express my feelings. Being a musician, I began writing songs. A year later, clean and sober, and with enough material for an album, I started a band with some friends and went into the studio. After passing from a friend to a friend to a friend, my demo tape ended up in the hands of an attorney who gave it to Motley Crue drummer, Tommy Lee . Six months later I signed a recording deal and was in the studio again, this time recording a full album.

Suddenly, life was good. A great big tour, lots of money. But then it hit me.

Returning home from the road I found myself wading through literally thousands of letters that had been waiting for me. Almost all of them shared stories similar to the ones I'd written about in my songs. I realized I wasn't alone.

I began adding a message of hope and encouragement at the end of every show and sharing some of my life experiences. Soon after, I was approached by Health Canada about doing a cross-country tour. A US tour with the same message followed, then we continued on to Europe and Asia.

As a musician I've shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the entertainment world. As a keynote speaker I've been invited to youth gatherings and conferences on six continents, where I've shared my life experiences with everyone from kids to parents, health professionals, world leaders and royalty.

From sleeping in abandoned warehouses to five star hotels, my life has had a surreal feel to it. At times I've compared it to a cheesy Monday night movie. I've seen life from many different views. My head is filled with stories that amaze and stagger some while sounding achingly familiar to others. This book is my first attempt at writing them as something longer than a three-minute song.


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