Backpack to the Burbs: One Man's Epic Journey from the Pit to the Palace

With no hope left, a young man wanders the streets, alleyways, and woods of his hometown with nothing more than his backpack. In his mind, his life is over. He’s let down his family, loved ones, himself, and God. He’s not even sure why he’s alive. Through the darkness, he pleads for something to happen to change his life. Little did he imagine that his journey would take him to a place he would never have chosen for himself.

Then God showed up.

Author Stacy Dodd shares his incredible story of how he ended up at the bottom of the darkest pit he ever could have imagined. But all that changed when an unintentional meeting with the God of the Universe transformed his life and set him on solid ground as a successful businessman and respected community leader.

My Take:

Once on a crash-and-burn downhill slide to hell, Stacy Dodd is now a respected community leader, author, speaker, and ministry facilitator. He takes the reader on a whirlwind ride through his childhood experimentation with drugs at the tender age of seven, through his addiction, despair, homelessness, and ultimately to the brink of suicide, at the point when all avenues were closed and all hope was gone. Stacy's cry out to God seemed to turn things the wrong way round, and instead of all his problems being solved, God took him straight to prison, on a suicide watch.

But as God usually does, He didn't leave Stacy there. He transformed him and gave him a new life, a new family, and a new purpose, called out by God to perform His work. Open the covers of this quick read and find out how God can radically transform a person and use him for His glory.

Content:

Drug Content:

R - The majority of this book covers a lot of ground, from alcoholism to street drug addictions, and the destruction that accompany them. Cocaine, Marijuana, Methamphetamines and crack cocaine are mentioned, as the author had struggles with all of these.

Violence:

PG - The dangers of street violence and the near-death experiences of being shot at by enraged locals are touched on but there is no graphic violence.

Language:

G - There is no profanity in here, it's squeaky clean.

Adult Content:

PG - The practice of drug dealers in getting girls hooked on drugs and then prostituting them or using them is touched on, but there's no graphic adult content at all.

Christian content:

God is the central character in this autobiography, and that comes through loud and clear. Without being preachy or depending heavily on scripture, Dodd takes a passenger observer approach to how God worked in his life, revealing at every touchpoint how and why God was working as He did. Stacy's quiet and firm faith comes through in every sentence. The work of God is revealed clearly on the tapestry of the beautiful transformation that is the testimony contained between these covers.

Final analysis:

I must admit that I was quite excited to get my hands on a copy of this book. Stacy's testimony has long been a centerpoint of conversation in the circles I run in, and having sat under him in ministries like Celebrate Recovery and Small Group, I can attest to the after picture of his walk quite well.

As to the quality of this book, it's conversationally written in Dodd's engaging matter-of-fact style. It's fast paced, gripping, and encouraging. For anyone who has struggles with addictions and hangups, here is a book that not only tells you there's hope for you, it gives you a road map on how to get help. Well-written, fast-paced, engaging and informative, this is a book I'm glad to have in my library. Five Stars!

About the Author:

Stacy Dodd is a native of Missouri who published his first book in 2020. As a former homeless drug addict, Dodd's life transformed after he was introduced to the redemptive power of Jesus Christ.

As a result of his background, Stacy possesses a strong pull towards inner-city and underserved youth. He founded The Hope Center Community Center, a non-profit organization, whose mission is to empower youth and give them a place to play, learn, and grow. The Hope Center is a part of the Memphis Grizzlies mentoring organization and mentors over 100 youth per month in North Mississippi. In addition, Dodd holds the position as the North Mississippi State Representative for the nationally recognized Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered, 12 step recovery program for anyone struggling with hurt, pain, or addiction of any kind. He also serves as the Vice President of Operations of Vertava Health in North Mississippi.

His hobbies include archeology, and he has an archeological site in Missouri with recorded discoveries of rocks and items from ca. 34,000 to 29,000 years ago. Dodd and his wife, Stephanie, currently reside in North Mississippi.

http://www.stacydodd.com