For anyone who ever launched themselves towards their dreams only to be rebuffed... From the moment I figured out how to operate a crayon, I started writing stories to fill a fantasy world of my own creation. I dreamed of sharing that world, of bringing it to life in the imagination of readers and movie-goers. And I dreamed of building my own life in Paris--the city that most nourished my creativity. But the real world always seemed to send its own monsters to resist, and throw me off my route. This is the story of how I launched myself into the sea time and time again. How my early attempts at charting a course in the real world failed, my hopes of making a living as a creative in Paris floundering, cracking beneath me, and sinking below the waves. It's a story of perseverance. Of picking up the pieces, rebuilding my raft, and plotting another new course. There is no map in here for others to follow, but if I can make it this far out into the , and live to tell the tale, then so can you.