Loneliness, daydreaming, anguish, and a lack of hope — I felt them all in the pit of my stomach. I hated, I conflicted; I blasphemed and almost lost my faith.

But I could never have written about addictions if I hadn't faced them.

I couldn't have spoken about strength if, in weakness, I wasn't on the brink of being crushed by pain.

You don't understand why you're going through hell right now, but it's to show others how to get out.

For a long time, I wondered why "this" or "that" was happening to me; I thought life owed me something! Oh, the naive dead, how petty I was!

If accidents and illness struck me in succession, it's because, at some forgotten moment, I had asked to be strong and protect those I love — and, in that moment of grinding, the prayer was beginning to be answered.

I want you to do something for me. I need you to remember this phrase: "God would not allow evil if He could not bring out of that evil a greater good." (St. Augustine)

And after you learn it, I want you to promise that you will never waste a pain again. From now on, you will always seek to find a benefit or a message in suffering. If you don't find them right away, wait: they will appear. Trust me. Take the greatest good from the evil to redeem yourself, to help others, or to build something greater than mere lamentations.