After an Eden’s upbringing in eastern Pennsylvania, my little twelve-year-old world suddenly gave root to an alien existence of struggle. Initiated by an 800-mile move from the only home I’d ever known, I started warring in unforeseen ways: isolation at a Southern Baptist church and bullying at a Christian high school, all the while fiercely determined to conceal sexual secrets spanning an entire childhood. It wasn’t until after college with a fresh start in a new state and two pivotal summer excursions that a foreign thread of redemption started spinning among the struggle.
Struggle Central tells the quarter-life quest of an introverted Christian’s desperate cross-country search for purpose and belonging, both inside the Church and out. Brimming with tears of heartache and euphoria alike, this candid collection of “messy memoirs” follows life’s arduous journey through endless valleys and perilous climbs, reveling in the breathtaking peaks to be discovered along the way.
My 10-year-anniversary edition features a new afterword from me as I’ve come to greater grips with trauma and shame, sexual identity within faith, my “central struggle” in life, and the regrets and joys from writing this book a decade ago, along with all the other consequences in between.
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Struggle Central is available in four formats: Kindle, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook! You can listen to this audiobook preview of the first chapter:
I hope you enjoy my story — perhaps even see something of yourself in the pages. I’d love nothing more than to hear your thoughts or maybe some of your own story, if you’re willing. You can email me at: tom[at]thomasmarkz[dot]com.
Let’s journey together.
Struggle well,
Tom
