Staying Human in a Broken World: Why I Wrote 25 Fires

I refuse to give up.

That’s the simple truth.

I look across my country and see a nation crying out for help.

Institutions that don’t work anymore.
Leadership that doesn’t care.
I see an economy that treats human beings like inventory.
A social contract in the trash.

You see it too.
I know you do.

I’m not trying to proselytize.
I’m not trying to preach.
I’m just trying to… raise my kids.
To find my footing.
To navigate a nation that has lost its soul.

So I wrote a book.
25 Fires.
My guiding principles were simple:

1. Keep it short.
2. Keep it honest.
3. Say something new.

What emerged is a book about reclaiming human values in a fractured world.
An attempt to name the chaos, to recalibrate, and to find our agency again.

The book is divided into five sections, each containing five short chapters written in poetic verse.

Part I calls out the crises of our time.
Economic inequality. Culture wars. An environment under attack.

Part II reflects on what it feels like to be a human in this moment.
The anxiety. The loneliness. The apathy. The grief.

Part III pulls back the lens to orient ourselves within a bigger picture.
The story of the universe. Of human history. Of time and change and faith.

Part IV sketches out a glimpse of what a better world might look like.
A world of dignity. Democracy. A social body that values human needs.

And Part V is a place to start. Simple practices to empower anyone.
Reclaiming your attention. Speaking out the truth. Building something. Choosing something. Never giving up.

Each of these will manifest as different leverage points for different people.
We all face our own challenges. We each have our own decisions, opportunities, and paths.

But my hope is that, in a world that feels overwhelmingly broken, it will be the courage and humanity of individuals that restores us into something whole. 

So that’s 25 Fires.
It’s a book you can read on your lunch break. Your bus ride.
An attempt to make the future feel possible again.

Maybe it hits you.
Maybe it doesn’t.
Maybe we’re ready.
Maybe we’re not.

But I’m not fucking leaving.
I’m not ever giving up.

I’m not prepared to let this nation drown in apathy, ignorance, and fear.

And neither are you.