My name is Neal Winsomer. I am a father and an author, raising support to carry my book across the country this summer and to work my way back to my daughter.

The book

Calling Out the Shadows is the documented account of one father's decision to respond to chaos with clarity, to meet secrecy with transparency, and to choose love over anger for his daughter's sake. This is not a book about revenge. It is intended to be a blueprint for those navigating high-conflict custody, broken communication, or the quiet erosion of truth in family relationships. This memoir and practical guide traces a decade of patterns: communication shutdowns, denied access, rewritten histories, and a system that rewarded avoidance over accountability.

What it took to write

999 documented hours went into it, 837 writing and 162 editing. This was during numerous health issues, hospitalizations, bedrest and recovery, a year that forced ten different surgeries, three of them emergency ones and two critical. As well as an ex wife trying to distance me from my daughter.

Recorded in my own voice

For the audiobook: "No words were generated, replaced, or modified by artificial intelligence. The voice you hear is the author's voice, reading his own words."

What some reviewers are saying

BookLife, from Publishers Weekly, calls it "a precise, emotive memoir of effort, resilience, and connection, with a welcome emphasis on the practical." The Midwest Book Review says it is "well written, organized and presented," and recommended it for personal and library collections.

Available now

On June 16, 2026, the full book came out in numerous formats including paperback, hardcover, ebook, audiobook, and the Skimmer's Edition. And on July 16, 2026, the large print edition will be released in two volumes.

The Light Up the Shadows Book Tour

A week after the large print edition is released, and one year and one week after the first word was written, I take to the road. The Light Up the Shadows Book Tour is scheduled to run 41 and a half days, with stops in 35 cities across 12 states over 999 hours. It is less about bookstores and signings than what happens beside them. I am focusing the bulk of my time to steward, connect, and bring ideas, options, and strategies, to the people who could use them and to the people who work with others as well. And this is also for working my way back to my daughter.

Where your support goes

Coming back from those surgeries cost me the ability to work the way I once did, so I cannot carry this alone the way I wish I could. Part of what your support covers is the medical care that keeps me on the road. And the road carries me to reset, resettle and reconnect with my daughter in the right way.

Your potential support pays for the road, not for me: fuel, lodging on the outskirts, food, tolls and parking, free books to give away, printing, some press, and a reserve for the miles. If you like, you can give here, as little or as much as you like, and anonymously if you prefer.

An invitation

This is an invitation, not a push. I understand many people are making many requests, and I also understand if this is not your season. If it is, I am grateful for the help on and for the road and this tour. I also would be appreciative if you shared about the book or about this tour with those you think it might connect with. Thank you for helping my healing, this book, and this comeback, reach one more person.