What I Thought was the End | Jeremy J.D. Leisky

Deana Brown Mitchell: 00:00:00

Hi, everybody, it's Deana Mitchell again, here with another conversation about our book. It's called Scars to Stars. And it is 20 personal stories about overcoming adversity. And I have Jeremy or JD Leisky here with me to talk about his chapter. So Jeremy, will you tell us a little bit about what your chapter is about?

Jeremy J.D. Leisky: 00:00:26

Uh, yeah, yeah, it's really about a very low point in my life, where I was just going through a lot of struggles. And, you know, frankly, I had, I'd lost my family and lost everything that I had, and was about to lose my home. And, you know, I just at that point, I was really looking at ending it all, it was just a pick option for me, and I was just tired. It wasn't, you know, that I was tired of life, I was just tired. And I felt alone. And so, you know, it's about that point in my life. And then a revelation that came to me that completely changed my life. So I don't want to know if I should go too much into it, because we want people to read it. And I don't want to just give the whole narrative.

Deana Brown Mitchell: 00:01:11

Yeah, and I will have to say that Jeremy story is definitely one like, no one else's. And it is very unique, and it is very riddled with challenges. And I think it's, it inspires me, and I've been in that plays, too. And it's, you know, that's the whole point of us doing this project is to meet people at that low place. And try to show them how we got out of it, and how we overcame it. And maybe it relates to something that could help you. So that's the whole purpose of this project, and it will, all the proceeds will go to the realized Foundation, which is about suicide prevention. And you can read more about that on our social media or our website. And we'll give you all that information. But Jeremy, will you also talk a little bit about the process of, of writing this chapter and, and what it did for you, if it helped you heal from something or, you know, grow in some way? Or if it's just, you know, being part of the project with all the other authors? Or like, what was the experience like for you?

Jeremy J.D. Leisky: 00:02:23

Um, yeah, yes, I'm gonna tell you, it was new for me, I've done a lot of podcasts. I've done radio shows, I've done different things, which is in my description, but I've never really written down what was going on. So, so me and thema knows this, when we first started the project, I'm like, Oh, it's just gonna take me a few seconds, no big deal. I mean, I already know my story. And then when I actually started typing, or put pen to paper, as they say, you know, all of a sudden, it just made me really go back and reflect a little bit deeper, I had that time and the pauses in between. And I'm just going, you know, I want to describe this a little bit more. And then, because I'm not a writer, all of a sudden, I'm crossing things out rewriting things. So it took me a lot longer than I ever anticipated. And, yeah, again, it you know, even when I speak my, when I do my videos, when I speak, and I do all these other things. It's, it doesn't take long, just a few minutes, and I go in and I hash it, and then I'm out. When I'm writing this, I have to really think a long time on it, it takes a while. And now I'm rehashing all these emotions. And really, now I'm in this area. And it really makes me go deeper doing it. So I'm very thankful for doing that. Being a part of this project, because it really pushed me a little bit more. And I'm going to tell you, it's not easy for me each time to share my story. People see me and they go, Oh, it's so easy for you. It's still difficult. You know, I'm sharing my innermost thoughts, my deepest emotions, my most vulnerable times in my life with people. And i No matter how many times I've done that, it's, it's difficult each time. And it takes me out of my comfort zone. And it pushes me further and further. And so again, I'm very thankful for a project like this to make me come out of my comfort zone, and push me further on this. And, you know, I know with the other stories that I've read on here, I'm just excited. And I know that this is going to change some lives. And I'm really hoping that when you hear this message, even if you're not going through something, if you know somebody that is please get this book in their hands, because there's a lot of people with very, very amazing stories. That will change a lot of lives. So very cool.

Deana Brown Mitchell: 00:04:45

Thank you, Jeremy. I think it's I think that that's the reason you're saying that it was difficult for you is exactly what will change lives and what will help others through something they're going through And if you're listening to this, you may or may not know that, you know, I survived a suicide attempt and didn't speak about it for 23 years. And so this is kind of the first time I've put it in writing as well. Even though I don't share my full story in this book, I just write the foreword, but it's, it's us being vulnerable and authentic, with our own low points that will help others know they're not alone, it will help them understand that other people have been where they are maybe not exactly in the same place, but similar, and how, and how we came out of it and what helped us and maybe it will help them in some way. And maybe they will even want to write their story in our next book. So we're excited about this project. I'm, I've been thinking about this for, I don't know, almost two years now. And I'm super excited that it's finally happening. And I'll also share our foundation links, so you can check that out as well. And that's where your money that buys the book will go to helping save other people from suicide. So, Jeremy, do you have any final words?

Jeremy J.D. Leisky: 00:06:10

Yeah, absolutely. You know, you whenever you give me a stage, I'm ready to take it? Of course, absolutely. No, it, you've really touched on it right there is that a lot of people think that they're alone. You know, I can share something because it's not in the book. So it's great. You when I used to do some public speaking, I would get up there and I'd ask people to close their eyes. And I'd ask a series of questions. Have you ever been bullied? You know, have you? And I got to one of the questions. And about the third question is, have you ever thought about committing suicide? And I'd have people with their eyes closed, raise their hands and keep them up? When it came to that? And that ask a few more questions. But by that third question, it was amazing. Almost every single person in that room would have their hands up. And it was, you know, from my perspective, when I see a lot of hands go up, when people when I say, Hey, have you ever thought about committing suicide and all these hands that went up? We think we're alone. And when we do that our mind tricks us. And then we isolate ourselves. And we think that nobody can understand that. And instead of opening up and sharing, what we do is just hold it all in. Because we don't want people to judge us to look at us differently. You know, we were a lot of times, if we're a head of a household different things, we're supposed to have it all together. And so we want to keep this facade in this image. And it actually destroys us when we do that, when we open up and share it, that's when the real healing begins. And we need to understand that, again, we are definitely not alone when it comes to this. And when all these people finally open their eyes, and I told them to open their eyes, and they look around the room and they'd see everybody with their hands up. They were in shock. What all these people have gone through these things as well. Yeah. And in the journey, like you said, is not exactly the same with each one of us. We all have our own unique stories. But it's absolutely amazing. What we have, we've all been through the journey of loss and, and you know, sadness, and depression and all these other things, even people that you think, have it all together, the star athletes, all these other things, man, a lot of times those people are even more messed up than you could even possibly imagine. And they just look that way, and they're afraid to open it up. And so that's why this book is awesome. This is why this project that you're doing is awesome. And it's amazing each and every one of again, the authors that have come on here and open up and share. So please definitely either read this or get into the hands of somebody else, because I guarantee you this is gonna change some lives.