Paul

Nia

I was a dark-skinned girl who hated herself, always trying to be validated by people around me, living a lifestyle I shouldn't have been living. I changed my eye color, my hair, chased relationships — but I always had a big friend group and felt so empty inside.

Corey

I was a 40-time convicted felon who spent 17 years incarcerated — a drug smuggler, thief, and dealer who believed I could never be good enough for God. I always had insecurities, feelings like I was never enough, and I ran from God into every kind of crime and chaos.

Neil

I was a bitter, cynical, selfish Jewish atheist. I had a 40-year pornography addiction, I was buying sex from women, lying to everyone, and stuffing it all down behind a mask. I didn't believe in God and I had no idea how to love anyone.

Sequoia

I was a stripper and an escort who hadn't been sober since I was 18. I felt like trash. I was angry, full of shame from childhood violation, and I thought my life had no meaning. I was being trafficked and beaten, and the only way I could do the work was to stay intoxicated.

Sarah

I was a devoted Buddhist raised in strict Buddhism, then turned to Hinduism and witchcraft, praying to many gods across Thailand, India, and Switzerland. I was self-focused, doing everything for myself. I was always searching — from childhood I knew something was missing — but I couldn't find the answer.

Ron

I was a scrawny burnout hippie — Jewish by birth, Buddhist by practice, wannabe shaman — smoking two and a half packs a day, doing hallucinogenics, living on the road with a woman I had nothing in common with, and I couldn't hold a thought in a bucket.

Abby

I was a dancer, a drug user, a psychology student living a double life — always trying to fit in, never knowing who I was. No identity, no knowledge of God, just seeking wherever I could find it. I was good at hiding everything.

Mike

I was a rock musician who nearly died of an overdose, then dropped out of college to search for God. I became a yoga guru with 300 students, teaching 14 hours a day, running an ashram, totally committed to the idea that all religions lead to the same ultimate reality.