To Then And Back Again is a memoir written in two parts. It's a book for those who enjoy the trials and tribulations of real-life people and feel they can or would like to relate to those whom they are reading about. It's a memoir about only those richest, most interesting details concerning my life...or so I would like to think. It was written to convey those sometimes simple, sometimes complex, but many times emotionally charged experiences I've had during my life. Whether these emotions were elicited by the harsh realities of adversity that I, like many, have faced and overcome, or by the personal triumphs achieved through perseverance, and at times, through sheer willpower alone is for the reader to decide. I will, however, try to express them in such a manner as to allow the readers the chance to decide for themselves. We will embark on a journey to then and back again; an odyssey that will encompass a multitude of adventures that are at times disturbing and chaotic, and at other times fascinating and humorous. These adventures will range from overcoming desperation and loneliness as a result of a hidden identity, to the anguish of a best friend and his suicide that served absolutely no purpose nor had any meaning; a suicide that gained nothing for anyone...especially himself. From an insidious monster's theft of a child's innocence to things that just happen; catching you unaware, then kicks you right square in your pearly whites. The journey will certainly run the gamut of human experiences and emotions, and I will share my life with the reader if they wish to take the ride. And of which I'm also certain, if I do it suitably, then they will vicariously become the reader's adventures as well. The first part is about my life from the time I was about eight years old, when our family home was destroyed by fire to when I was just out of high school and first went out to live on my own. The second part will be about my life from when I was about twenty until I was thirty something. It will begin when my dad and I built my first home until I finally moved from my hometown to go off to medical school.