Today’s Honoree is Don English

Imagine growing up with  an older brother who tortured you physically,  sexually, psychologically and  emotionally every day of your childhood and
told you that if you told anyone,  he’d kill your adored father, the only  person who truly loved you  unconditionally? Said brother is now in prison
for life after committing an  unspeakably horrific murder. His mother became  an alcoholic shortly before  his father died when the author was 12. Beaten
up while registering for a new  school in 9th grade, Don English left school  without telling his mother (his  brother was already imprisoned for other
crimes, even as a teen) for four  years and became a championship skater, but  his coach also abused him.

They  say abusers can spot always spot a victim  and it’s true. Instead of turning  to alcohol, drugs or spreading the cycle  of abuse, Don went to cosmetology  school and became one of the nation’s top  hair specialists for problem hair  and created a very successful salon with a  closed waiting list. He went from  living in tiny apartments to owning his  first home, entering his interior  design into a Better Homes & Gardens
contest, won that and earned a huge  layout in the magazine. Then he bought
and flipped 7 more homes and he now  lives in his custom-made dream house. He
went from being frightened at the  mere thought of being gay to being out and
in a longtime, mutually supportive  relationship. He is a Buddhist and
learned not only forgiveness, but  enlightenment. Finally, he turned his own
educational deficit into a  scholarship so that others would not struggle to
receive the education that  eluded him when he was a teen and young adult.

Don English,  author of Enlightenment of Evil: Murder, Abuse, Transcendence,
with only an  8th grade education, took writing classes and turned his
heartbreaking life  story into a compelling, well-written, inspiring,
thought-provoking and  unflinching look at how he survived, thrived and
transformed his life from  victimhood to triumph, from evil to goodness with
no proselytizing! He’s a  smart, positive and uniquely insightful man and
his memoir was just  released.

For more information:

http://www.amazon.com/Enlightenment-Evil-Murder-Abuse-Transcendence/dp/0615