a finalist in the 2012 USA Book
News Best Book Awards. During
my sophomore and senior years of
high school, I travelled to middle
schools in the metro-Detroit area
to host creative writing workshops
to promote literacy in youth.
My second book, The Last Time
(sequel to The Last Summer),
was published in November
2013. I was sixteen. It was a
finalist in the 2014 National
Indie Excellence Awards and
won a 2014 Readers’ Favorite
Bronze Award, which allowed
me to fly to Miami one year
after publication to receive the
award at a ceremony. I even got
to speak about my books on a
live Saturday morning show that
aired in the metro-Detroit area.
But all of these successes were
not without their challenges. I
was bullied from fifth grade until
the end of my sophomore year,
and this caused me to struggle
through many years of darkness
and loneliness. I got through it
with the help of softball, writing,
my family, and my faith.
By the end of my senior year of
high school, I decided to continue
my unconventional path by
skipping college and becoming
a Christian missionary instead.
I have spent the past several
months (August 2015 through
May 2016) travelling the United
States in a van with my team and
putting on religious retreats to
spread the Gospel to middle and
high school youth. During this
time I’ve travelled as far north as
Maine and as far south as Miami,
covering the Northeast, parts
of the Midwest, and the South.
40 | Eydis Magazine