Husband, dad, friend, social and spiritual entrepreneur, and writer who happens to be an American living in Ghana, West Africa.
Many titles for a guy to wear…but that means many paths can lead to healthy connections. Your unique journey differs from mine, but I’m sure we share scars from falling into sudden potholes, hidden pitfalls, and maybe a downward spiral.
I made some of my own scars. I made a few living on the edge and pushing the envelope. In my early and mid-30s, I helped to start and operate a gold trading and mining operation in Burkina Faso. I spent too much time away from my family, lost my health to a serious round of cerebral malaria, and lost my faith in everything good in the world.
Friends saved my life.
Serious friends came to my rescue in the form of lunches, coffees, phone calls, emails, and long conversations. My faith community provided a place for me to heal and re-learn how to think, act, feel, and relate in healthy ways. My family gave me space and love to be broken and remade.
Social health held me up when my physical and emotional health failed.
I live between cultures as an American with a full life in Tamale, Ghana. My closest friends are on two continents and I’ll never belong to either culture. This tension and these transitions from day to day (sometimes conversation to conversation) keep me alert to my role to the men in my life. Dad. Friend. Co-worker. Learner.
I have a not-secret agenda with the Men’s Social Health Newsletter. I want to be part of 101 men who are socially healthy and help one more man find social health.
Now for the important stuff. My wife of over 25 years and I have 6 kids. Three are pursuing careers in the USA and three live with us in Tamale. My two oldest children are young men and I see how important healthy social connections are for them. In other words, their dad wants to ensure they are the men who would save a friend’s life. And that they have friends who would save their lives.