Escaping Myself: Lee B's Biography, a true story of sobriety and his best tall tales

Revised July 2025 for enhanced clarity and grammatical refinements.Lee B. just barely survived alcoholism, but can he survive sobriety?Escaping Myselfis his raw, uplifting journey from a childhood of abandonment to 56 years sober by his passing in 2021. A renowned muralist in Western Colorado, Lee overcame a tough start—left by his parents, raised by his Cherokee grandmother and Anglo grandfather, they moved from New Mexico’s reservations to Colorado’s uranium mining camps. His path twisted through the National Guard, Army service at a Nike Missile Base in Pennsylvania, and a stint in Germany, before a run-in with the Chicago mob led him to Grand Junction and a 12-Step program. Repeating many of the generational mistakes of his parents, including getting married six times (three times to the same woman), he eventually broke the pattern of familial transgressions to find and give forgiveness. His story is as shocking as it is inspiring.Content Warning:Lee’s era was steeped in prejudice and violence. This memoir confronts those struggles, their roots, and his triumph, urging us to face and overcome our own biases and challenges.Shortly before his passing, Lee wrote in his journal:"How can my resentment at mother, grandmother, Dad, the military, school system, mainstream religion, big government, big corporations, big powerful men and women be transformed into a healthy appreciation for other people's successes as well as my own? How can I use my biography as a teaching tool and an example of spiritual overcoming and transformation rather than just wallowing in self-pity, resentment, and hatred? Help me God, help me be Your servant for this whole project."Read more