There have been multiple seasons in my life defined by a nagging, scraping feeling: I am a failure.

During many other seasons I have felt 'on top of the world' for months at a time.

In this newsletter, I aim to write about those 'book-end' moments, and the many in between them, where the great stories and adventures of our lives play out.

I do this mostly because writing is cathartic for me. The other reason is that I suspect there are many others like me who struggle with the coaster-like ups and down of life. Why can't it be steady? Must it play with our emotions the way it does? Maybe my thoughts on these topics will bless someone someday.

For a little context, I'm Sam. Currently, I live in Gig Harbor, WA with my family. I've been here for 18 years. But I grew up in Morocco.

Years 0 to 17 looked like a very curly-haired, very blonde, very white boy going to French school, speaking Arabic with his friends, playing pickup soccer games in the dirt street outside our home.

My childhood abroad deeply shaped my life. After 17 years in North Africa, my family moved to London.

I was only there for 6 months before leaving for a short stint LA, where I intended to go to university to study film-making.

A girl got the better of me. I left school, moved to WA state, we married. Fast forward and we'll celebrate our 17 year anniversary in 2025 and have three wonderful children to show for it, ages 6, 10 and 13.

I'm a follower of Jesus, an entrepreneur, a cocktail enthusiast. I like working out, playing games, smoking cigars and travelling.

My journey, and my family's, has been quite the ride. An adventure, if you will.

Bumps, bruises, dreams, smiles, pivots, sleepless nights, hard work, laughter, stress, comfort, sickness, travel, tears, joy: a life full of great and heart-breaking stories that I plan to write about.

Welcome.