The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
A world of his own
City man embraces passion for writing after struggling with addiction
TORRINGTON — Jamie Lynn Boothe traveled a hard road to find himself, and when he did, he found himself an author.
An avid reader as a child, Boothe said Monday he was fascinated by the way authors could create a world, and began to write poetry in high school.
a Torrington resident and native of Moneta, Virginia
Putting the words together allowed him an escape from tough times, the Torrington resident said.
A native of Moneta, Va., he was living in a foster home after an abusive childhood. He became close to his foster parents, who “taught (him) what love was,” but he carried scars into adulthood.
As he got older, he said he traveled to North Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee and Colorado before coming to Connecticut. Along the way, he struggled with alcoholism, homelessness, suicidal thoughts, a sense of worthlessness and confusion, searching for who he was, he said.
“I guess I kept moving around so much because I didn’t know who I was, I didn’t know what I wanted. I knew I wanted to write, but I was in search of something, but I wasn’t sure what it was,” Boothe said. “I’ve been around the block a few times, and it took me coming here, and hitting rock bottom here — it could have been anywhere, but it happened to be here ... to finally surrender and say, ‘OK, God. I’m ready.’ ”
In Torrington, he began anew. After being hospitalized and finding faith in God, he began working the Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous programs. He has been sober for six years.
Then he took up a lifelong dream, he said.
Boothe said he wrote poetry while he traveled, but didn’t begin writing his first novel until he was clean for six months, living in a sober home on Brightwood Avenue. He had always wanted to write a novel, but figured it wouldn’t happen unless he got started.
Over the next few months, he put together a draft, which became “Nightmares and Dreams,” his first book.
“I remember sitting in the living room, writing the last paragraph, and I started crying, because I finally wrote my first novel,” Boothe said. “It was a great feeling.”
He has since written 10 books,
often featuring romantic and inspirational themes.
Boothe said he is trying to tell down-to-earth, real stories. He is seeking a deal with a literary agent, which would allow him to write full time.
After battling addiction and going through recovery, he found himself through the tumult — a sensitive and caring individual, able to love and be loved, with belief in himself, he said.
“I was told everyday growing up that I would never amount to anything, that I was stupid, I was dumb, that I was gay — that I was worthless,” Boothe said. “When you hear that every single day of your life, you believe it. So for many years I was confused about my sexuality, I was confused and I was scared and I didn’t believe in myself as a person, I didn’t think I was worthwhile, I didn’t think anyone cared about me or loved me. And I was wrong all those years.”
Now, he has a home, a job helping people with disabilities in Winsted, and is a published author. He is grateful for where he is today, with people in his life who care about him and a roof over his head. He knows himself.
“I know who I am today, and I know I’m worthwhile. And that’s one reason why I write inspirational stuff,” he said. “We all have demons. We all have skeletons in the closet. We just have to fight them.”
As he pursues a full-time deal, he hopes his books inspire people, as he draws on his past and his present.
“I tell readers — and in a way, I’m joking when I say it, but in a way I’m not — that if I didn’t move you to tears, then I didn’t write a very good story, because everything I write, I write from the heart,” Boothe said. “Everything I write, somewhere in that book, I write from experience. And it’s realistic, everyday stuff — some of it’s good, some of it’s painful. But it’s where people can connect with it.”
Boothe’s works are available on Amazon. www.amazon.com/ Jamie-Lynn-Boothe/e/B00D4R8QZW.