One Dope's Hit Up, Lit Up, Head Changed Up Life: The First Installment

A few things Joshua Kresse’s transformative upbeat memoir describes are his boyhood, drug use, time in a juvenile detention center (juvie), residential youth ranch experience, partying at college, and religious transformation. Joshua’s book is different than most “self-help” books, and he explains why in his book. Joshua’s book is for teens, parents, and anyone who needs and/or wants to transform themselves and their life, but it’s also for people who have already transformed and could use an inspirational story to help them continue fighting the good fight. Joshua’s book gives a positive new take on the youth ranch industry. Even though Joshua is on the same side of the barbed wire fence as Mount Carmel Youth Ranch (MTCYR), he doesn’t suck up to ‘em. In his book, he discloses how he actually feels about MTCYR staff members. He doesn’t sugar coat! Joshua had a few minor setbacks after he completed the MTCYR program. Many would say that’s proof that MTCYR didn’t “fix” him. Joshua admits that MTCYR was just a “first step” for him, but he says that if it wasn’t for that first step, he wouldn’t have transformed. Joshua believes anyone can transform. He’s not saying “because he did it anyone can,” but that anyone can transform because all things are possible with God.

Why teens should buy Joshua’s book -

+  If you’re a teen and you have the option of reading Joshua’s book or ending up at a youth ranch, boot camp, and/or juvie, which would you chose? After being in juvie and at a youth ranch himself, Joshua can now say he would’ve done anything to prevent getting sent to those places, even if it meant reading a book like the one he wrote (One Dope’s Hit Up, Lit Up, Head Changed Up Life: The First Installment). However, Joshua is happy that his experiences made him who he is today and gave him the ability to help others avoid what he experienced. At a bare minimum, Joshua’s book can help teens avoid making the same exact mistakes that he made. That’s good, because teens want to be one of a kind, even in the mistakes they make. As we all know though, it’s very difficult to reinvent the wheel of mistake making. 

Why parents should buy Joshua’s book for their teen, other teens, and themselves -

+ Parents should buy several copies of Joshua’s book and give them to their teen and/or any teens they know. Joshua’s book could prevent teens from going to a youth ranch, boot camp, and/or juvie. Parents should buy Joshua’s book for themselves because it will help them better understand their teen, and make a decision about sending their teen to a youth ranch if and/or when they need to make that decision. Joshua’s book will give parents hope and show that even teens that are as troubled as Joshua used to be can transform with help from a faith-based youth ranch, God, and parents who think loving and disciplining their teen aren’t mutually exclusive.