Taking the Mask Off incorporates what all of us know but many do not follow, commonsense lessons that we all started out knowing from our parents but somehow through the callus of outer growth through teenage, college, and young adulthood get worn down. The author sheds the shields of complacency and groupthink to focus on vulnerability. His writings show pain, frustration, happiness, and guilt in the same sentence; they are an emotional rollercoaster that will leave you breathless and focused on your inner self more than any author could have. He is the one author who can help you make that journey from what you do is not who you are.  

He takes you on a journey through short stories that highlight how painful fitting in and worrying about what others think to loving what he thinks, a journey that is ongoing with no end in sight guided by his religious beliefs. It’s no longer a description of if your glass is half full or half empty, it’s now about how happy you are to have a glass. Or as Dr. Seuss says, those who matter don’t mind and those who mind don’t matter.   

What began in his life as a fast climb was suspended once he realized who one is is not necessarily what one does. Said another way, the ladder he was climbing was leaning against the wrong wall. Someone who understands that by changing nothing changes nothing, and he knew he had to change himself.