I'M NOT PROUD OF THIS

How I overcame drug addiction and walked away from gangster life. This is my transformative journey from being destined to lifelong imprisonment to running multi-million dollar businesses, and becoming an influential leader and mentor in my community.

A story of redemption.

My journey overcoming being a drug addict, gang member, and a lifelong inmate, to running multi-million dollar businesses, while becoming an influential leader, and mentor in the community.

Preface:

My whole life has been a production with me as the star of the show. I spent the first quarter of my life pretending to be someone I was not. Now here I am at 39 years of age and I am finally not ashamed of who I am.

Through sharing my feelings with the world, I hope to create meaning out of all my hurt, all of my suffering, and all of my time spent alone. That will be accomplished if I can instill one ounce of faith to the hopeless, if I can make one parent appreciate and enjoy his or her family more, or if I can make one junky see the silver lining in something.

I knew there was a 50/50 chance of this book either being therapeutic to me and helping me close a chapter of my life, or the opposite, completely melting away this phony reflection of myself I have created to cope over the years. That persona of a man with no feelings who is seemingly unaffected by his surroundings, upbringing, or lack thereof.

I never thought of myself as a victim, on the contrary, I always felt honored that God would consider me to be worthy enough or resilient enough to weather the storm. I always knew I would eventually come out stronger and better equipped to take on the world. Sort of like a hand selected soldier chosen for an elite mission. I would eventually emerge with scars and memories stuffed down, cataloging them in the back of my mind so they will never be forgotten. Some of these memories resurface regularly, some come to mind 15 years later, and some are never to be thought of again.

People who have met me over the years have probably wondered about my complex personality. This book is for you, I think it is important that you understand what really drives my personality and fuels the passion inside of me.

I have to give special recognition to my wife, who was instrumental in the writing of this book. Without her constantly stabilizing me as I walk this journey, this book would not have been possible.

Best Regards,
Dominic Mangiaruga III