Help Me Finish My Memoir: The Workaround
Why This Book Matters (Preview) In 1977, a sci-fi movie changed my life. I was seven, severely dyslexic, and struggling to make sense of the world around me. I saw robots that could understand and translate reality, and I knew I needed one. Years later, my mom gave me a computer. Spell check, text-to-speech, and speech-to-text transformed the way I could tell my story. Speaking into my phone, I finally found a way to share my life: growing up in a cult, surviving abuse, Playing in bands in the Pacific Northwest in the 90s, 25 years of tattooing, a decade in the recreational cannabis industry and finding my own way despite the challenges of life. The Workaround is my story in my voice. Technology helped me structure it, but the words are mine. With your support, I can finish it, and maybe help others who’ve ever felt lost to find their own workaround.
Why This Book Matters (Full Story) In 1977, this really cool sci-fi movie came out. I was seven years old. It just happened to be one of my friends’ birthdays. It was opening night and we were all waiting in line with anticipation. They finally let us in. We’d all seen the trailers on TV, so we were excited and ran to get our seats. The movie started, and I realized I should’ve peed before it. I thought I could hold it, but then this big dark figure burst through the door, and I peed a little. Not a lot, but enough to make a wet spot. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom. Drying myself off seemed to take forever, and I missed a bunch of the beginning. I made up for it, though. I probably saw the movie a dozen times that year. There were these fascinating robots in the movie. I knew right then I wanted one. No, I needed one. Something that could translate this strange world I lived in. I always felt like an outsider. I was severely dyslexic. Reading and writing was all a scramble for me. If I had one of those robots, it could do it for me.
Sometime in the early ’90s, my mother built me a computer for Christmas. I’d never really liked computers. I was an artist, and digital art just seemed fake. The first thing I discovered was spell check. But even that was a bit useless at the start, because if your spelling wasn’t close enough, it couldn’t fix it. I was rarely close enough. Technology got better. Then came text-to-speech, then speech-to-text. That clunky old computer turned into something I could hold in my hand. I realized I might actually be able to write a book about my life. So I started speaking into my phone, telling my stories: growing up in a cult, the abuse, the crazy experiences in school, the times I persevered and found a different way, the wild stuff I’d seen over the years. I’ve always felt pretty lucky that I’ve had an interesting life.
By my mid-fifties, I felt like I’d already lived a few lives. The problem was, large amounts of text were still hard for me to decipher. Even reading my own writing, it would get mixed up. Trying to copy, paste, and structure it so it was readable was a nightmare. If I wanted this book to exist, I would’ve had to hire a ghostwriter, but that’s expensive. So I kind of put it aside. Then AI came along. I started telling my story to it. It could take my words and compile them into readable paragraphs without changing anything, as long as I instructed it not to. Well, most of the time. I still have to remind it occasionally when it takes “helpful” liberties. This book is in my voice. My story. I used technology to structure it, but the words are mine.
Where Your Support Goes I’m raising $5,000 to finish writing The Workaround and get it properly published. Here’s exactly where the money will go: Professional Editing, Layout & Formatting: $3,500 Cover Design & Artwork: $500 Shipping, production tools & GoFundMe Fees: $1,000 This will cover real professional editing once the book is complete, plus turning it into good-looking ebook and paperback versions.
No matter the amount, your support means a lot. This book has been something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time, and your help actually makes it come to life. For anyone who grew up feeling lost, maybe my stories can help you feel less alone. And I hope it inspires you to keep going, to find the workaround. I did. You can too.
No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to this GoFundMe.