I’ve been waking up at 4 AM for 70 days… because I wasn’t sure how I was going to do this…
On May 3rd I promised to share my story—and I’ve kept that promise, one chapter at a time.
Next weekend, I get to come home to Cincinnati and share the end of Chasing the Carat live, with those of you who’ve been walking this journey with me.
What I didn’t share back then?
I spent two years trying to bring this story to life—hiring copywriters, ghostwriters, even a writing coach I found on a podcast. Her response?
“Your story lacks depth. It’s not robust enough for anyone.”
But every word was chiseled from a memory that meant something to me—and after trying one writer after another, I realized: I wasn’t willing to change a thing.
So I stopped—until May 3rd.
That morning, as I wrote out the date, and recognized that it was the anniversary of the morning I got engaged at the top of the Eiffel Tower. My eyes welled up with tears.
Not because of the engagement, but because my plans had me launching Chapter One—Paris—the engagement story—a year earlier and I still hadn’t done it.
That’s when it hit me, I didn’t walk away from that life to back down, I walked away from that life so I would show up. Hence the commitment.
Since then, I’ve gotten up early each day to figure out how to take my drafts and turn them into something I could share, releasing them one chapter a week—only to be met with messages from childhood and high school friends, old colleagues and even women I’ve never even met who simply said:
“Me too.”
“Can we talk?”
“Thank you.”
This Tuesday, I’ll post Chapter 9: Divine Intervention—the final chapter I’ll share online.
But Chapters 10, 11, and 12?
You won’t find them on Facebook, Instagram, or my website.
Because they’re not just content.
They’re the culmination of everything it took to heal.
Eleven years ago, I flew into Cincinnati and drove across Tennessee and Kentucky, searching for a recovery center.
I spent weeks doing the hardest work of my life—and eleven years living out that decision.
These last three chapters?
They deserve more than a scroll.
They deserve to be witnessed.
CARAT LIVE: The Finale is next weekend.
If something in you knows it’s time…I’ll be in the room.
If you want to know the end of the story, I’d be honored if you joined me.