FAITH, FISTS, AND FINDING MY WAY: Memoirs of a Mormon Hillbilly

Faith, Fists & Finding My Way isn't just another straight-line memoir. It's ninety-nine stand-alone stories tracing a hillbilly's journey from the backwoods of Appalachia - where joy, faith, and fists often shared the same room - to unexpected adventures, professional fulfillment, and quiet moments of grace. This humorous, heartfelt memoir follows a teenager who fled his rural Appalachian home after religious discrimination pushed him toward a wider, wilder world. What followed were true stories stitched from hillbilly roots, hard knocks, and unexpected miracles. Some tales will make you laugh; others might make you wince, but all are true. Raised between mountain grit and Christian expectations, the author stumbled through trouble, humor, and hard knocks...eventually landing on a crooked path toward adulthood, conversion, purpose, and achievements he never imagined. Along the way he crossed oceans, met presidents, shook hands with unlikely people - and discovered that God's grace has a habit of showing up just in time. You don't have to read it cover to cover. Hopscotch through the chapters, browse like you're rummaging a yard sale, and take whatever stories speak to your journey. Each chapter has its own heartbeat, and together they prove that even a crooked path can lead somewhere good. Told with mountain humor and unvarnished honesty, these stories speak to believers and skeptics alike. Drawn from decades of diary entries, they weave together second chances, reflections on faith, LDS-flavored experiences, and the surprising places strength shows up - including the realization that even the roughest trails can lead you home. A few of the 99 stories include: - Appalachian Roots Can Be Gnarly - Practical Skunk Raisin' for Fun and Profit - My First Kiss Was in a Hillbilly's Outhouse - I Packed My Pain and Ran Away - Growing Up in Two Cultures