The Only Thing Stopping You is YOU!

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Leon Mecham Author Interview

The Long Way Around details your experiences growing up in a Mormon household marked by abuse and addiction and the challenges you have overcome over the course of your life. Why was this an important book for you to write? 

Writing requires a clear mind, so I would spend some time meditating before I wrote. Since I was in my late 60’s when I began writing, I had to regress decades to remember some of the events and specifics, and more importantly the feelings associated with the events. I had shared some of my stories briefly with a friend or two and they would say, “You need to write about that”, so I did.

I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?

As I began writing, I decided that I should focus on the positive nature and write a motivational and inspirational piece that might help others with the challenges of life. As I have said, it took me four years and a bucket of tears to write this book.It was basically facing and dealing with the depression I had experienced over the years.

What is a misconception you believe many people have about growing up in a Mormon household? 

Tara Westover wrote “Educated”, a memoir. Whe shares her Mormon story as well. I think that there is a lot of abusive households in every religion and Mormonism is no exception. Typically when I think of organized religion I think of the Sunday teachings of forgiveness and brotherly love that seems only to apply to Sunday. Monday through Saturday those philosophies are forgotten, as well as the ten commandments.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from The Long Way Around?

You can become the person you want to be, just as I have. The only thing stopping you is YOU!

Bruce Lee said the most important thing in life is to know yourself. Meditation is critical to do that!

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Leon Mecham grew up in poverty, in a family whose Mormon values were starkly juxtaposed to the lives they led. Leon felt nothing but rejection and disdain from drug-addicted parents who abused him, belittled him, and took advantage of him, sending him off to the Texas oil fields when he was just eighteen to earn money to help support the family. From then on, living on his own, he fought his own demons and his own addictions. He dealt with his own heartbreak, learning the harshest of life’s lessons along the way. In his memoir, Leon shares his unapologetic account of his experience with the Mormon religion, how he found his footing, and stayed true to himself, despite sometimes unbearable circumstances. From working as child on the farm his family was hired to run, to becoming “oil field trash” as a hired hand on oil rigs in Texas, to developing a love for motorcycles and riding, becoming an ordained minister in the Mormon church, becoming a sought-after builder in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, and losing everything to a marriage gone bad, Leon also nearly lost his will to live. His is a story of being resilient and accountable, of believing in oneself, and standing firm when one’s world is wavering. His is a story of survival — physical and emotional — and proves that a man’s character is not determined by his upbringing but is embedded in his soul and nurtured by the dictates of his own heart.

#Stopping

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