For the majority of Dashawna Maxey’s life she has been trying to get through what she described as her storm– a storm of trials, temptations, addictions and painful memories.

But despite her moments of darkness she’s finally found her way through the harsh winds of her once frequently bitter reality. And now she’s ready to tell the world about her storm and how exactly she endured her protracted quest for the safe haven of dry land and shining sunlight.

The 23-year-old Horse Cave junior is majoring in English literature and is currently working on her first book, an autobiography titled, “I Told the Storm.” The book is currently being edited and Maxey anticipates it to be ready to send to publishers by June.

“Everyone comes to college with some baggage,” Maxey said. “Basically the book is about releasing the baggage.”

In her book Maxey tells of her premature birth, which resulted from her mother’s alcoholism, the story about her mother dumping her in a trash can two weeks after she was born, her adoption at eight months of age, her alcohol, cocaine and heroin addictions here at Western, her suicide attempts and her battle with learning how to love herself.

Maxey was tormented psychologically for most of her life while she was teased and bullied by her peers.

“I’ve been locked in lockers, shoved in garbage cans, beat up and spit on,” she said.

And it was because of Maxey’s storm that she had a low self-esteem.

“I think that’s why I got involved with the drug culture,” she said.

But Maxey isn’t asking for any sympathy. She needs none because she’s already come out of that storm.

“If I had the chance to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing,” she said. “I wouldn’t be the person I am now.”

Maxey has been in Alcoholics Anonymous for a little over two months now. It was there that she began writing her autobiography.

“Sobriety and being clean has been a blessing because I see things more clearly,” she said.

One thing Maxey said she learned from being in AA is that everyone should talk to someone about their life.

“This (book) is my self-therapy,” she said.

Maxey said her book has a message she wants Western students especially to hear.

“Wake up and take time to slow down and smell the roses,” she said. “And don’t let your friends talk you into doing things that you don’t want to do…for the freshmen, don’t get caught up in the cliches and glamor of college.”

Each week, Zach picks a random person from the student directory and calls them to ask, “What’s Your Story?” His series runs every Tuesday. Zach can be reached at [email protected].