David's Journey
Introduction
Illuminating Mental Health and Criminal Justice
Dave is an accomplished electrical engineer with prestigious degrees, who embarked on a deeply personal writing journey. His compelling narrative explores the life of a man navigating schizophrenia’s complexities, culminating in a tragic event and the struggles that followed.
David’s path crossed with Jarod through a mutual connection. Together, they tackled the challenges of conveying his trial, treatment, and triumphant return to society to a broader audience.
Creator Journey
Transform powerful moments from your own or your characters’ lives into tales that compel, inspire and drive.
Please hover over the boxes below to reveal their contents.
Challenge
Journey
Success
Challenge
David’s manuscript was more than a book; it was a beacon shedding light on mental illness and criminal justice reform. Yet, the profound impact of his story needed a more straightforward pathway to reach and resonate with readers.
The challenge was twofold: enhance the book’s accessibility and integrate an analytical article on mental illness within the criminal justice system without losing the narrative’s heart.
Journey
Together, they embarked on a strategic journey to integrate a critical essay on mental health, recidivism and the criminal justice system within the story itself, ensuring that its placement served both the narrative and augmented the overall impact on the reader, as well.
By selecting key words and phrases that evoked not only the atmospheric tension, bleakness and despair Dave encountered on his journey, but also the glimmer of hope and redemption he experienced upon receiving proper treatment, they allowed readers to immerse themselves fully in both his thoughts and emotions.
The book completed, they worked closely with a talented artist to craft a cover that would invite an audience into a world where justice, mental health, and human resilience converge.
Learn More About Our Coaching Services
Success
David’s story transformed into a powerful tool for advocacy and awareness, reaching the desks of state governors and sparking crucial conversations about mental health and criminal justice reform.
His appearances on podcasts and features in newspapers have amplified his voice. At the same time, his growing blog and the inception of his next book project mark the continuation of his mission.
David’s goal to educate and enlighten criminal justice experts, professionals and those impacted by mental illness has been realized, making his book both a profound narrative and an invaluable resource for understanding the intersections between mental health and the law.
Rules that Apply
to ask “What if…?” And follow the “Why?”
Much of the tale was traumatic and difficult for Dave to revisit, so we had to rehearse and practice the act of giving it some other place to exist that wasn’t inside of him.
After we achieved this, we were able to delve into the text itself—a tale spanning decades—with a critical eye and see where it worked and still needed development.
Dave also had a mission: to make sure that no one else had to live through what he did—the abuse, the neglect, stigma, and the failures of both the mental health and criminal justice systems.
Still, he struggled with when and how to publish, and the fear that—given his illness—no one would listen.
So we framed the book, his site and communications around a question, the same one the jury on his trial had to answer:
“How do you know the worth of a life before it’s lived?”
Recommended Episodes
- Storytelling
Joining today: entertainer, co-host of The Geekly Oddcast, and host of Odder Worlds, David Herman
- Storytelling
Hey all, What you’re about to hear is the first half of a much longer conversation on the four essential beats of narrative and how storytellers have used them both now and in the past to compel, inspire, repulse or attract.
- Storytelling
Hey all, This was a somewhat surreal episode for me to return to after we recorded it in what seems such a long time ago (back in 2016). I usually save these for later in the season, but Covid as of late has been cruel to my family and my dad’s back in the hospital with leukemia, so…it’s put me in bit of a reflective state, I suppose.
Book a call with Jarod Cerf,
Your Storytelling Guide.
And use our friendly calendar to schedule a free half-hour—
plus bonus self-assessment, so you can maximize the time.
