From heartbreak to healing — Joseph Behnke turned pain into purpose.

My name is Joseph Behnke, and I'm more than just the author of Before 18: In Joseph's Footsteps and Before 18: The Untold Stories of Drug Abuse — I'm the person who lived them, breathed them, and carried them in silence for far too long.

For as long as I can remember, I've had a storm inside me. One filled with moments I couldn't forget, wounds that never seemed to close, and questions I never felt safe enough to ask out loud. Growing up wasn't soft. It wasn't simple. It wasn't safe. I was exposed to things no child should have to carry — and yet I carried them, day after day, year after year.

These books started in the quiet. In late-night journal entries. In phone notes I typed just to get the weight off my chest. In moments where I felt like if I didn't write it down, it would swallow me whole. At first, I didn't think I'd ever show anyone. But the more I wrote, the more I realized: this wasn't just my pain. This was the pain of so many people like me — young, unheard, and surviving in silence.

I didn't come from privilege. I didn't have a ghostwriter or a big publishing deal waiting in my inbox. What I had was a voice — raw, unfiltered, and still healing — and the courage to use it. I didn't write Before 18 because I had it all figured out. I wrote it because I didn't. And that honesty… that's what makes it real.

For over three years now, I've been pouring my truth into these pages. Each book reflects a different part of me — the boy who felt abandoned, the teenager trying to find love and security, the young adult facing trauma most people wouldn't believe. It's not perfect. Neither am I. But it's mine.

Because I've already lived through things that changed me forever. And I know I'm not the only one. Because these books aren't about being 40 and looking back — they're about being right here, in it, and choosing to speak now while the memories are fresh, the emotions are sharp, and the truth still hurts… but also heals.

This is the first time I've ever told my full story. But it's not the end.

Part Three — Before 21: A Story Broken, A Voice Set Free — will close this chapter of my life. And beyond that, I'm building something even bigger: stories about what it means to heal, to grow, and to take back the pen when the world tried to write my ending for me.

If you've made it this far — thank you. For reading. For being curious. For showing up.

You are now part of this journey. And I truly hope these books become part of yours, too.

Because Before 18 and everything that follows isn't just my memoir. It's proof that your story — no matter how hard, no matter how messy — is worth telling.

With love,
Joseph Behnke