I grew up in an alcoholic/dysfunctional family and my perceptions of reality became skewed. Over time, I dreamed big, but my dreams would be knocked down to size.

I wanted to be a novelist when I was a kid. And if I couldn’t be that, I wanted to be an astronomer. As I grew older, I spent time writing to escape the world around me. And one Christmas, my mom purchased me a small telescope. I cherished that tiny red telescope. I’d set it out on the roof of my grandfather’s car and stare up at the moon or at Jupiter.