Bring Your Best Game

In Bring Your Best Game, my debut memoir, I share the extraordinary adventures that have shaped my life. Its settings range from the nostalgic charm of hometown America to the captivating backdrop of the international stage. My journey through a pivotal era in world history and my personal life gave me the power to transition from the accepted career and success norms and to craft my own.

It begins when, at age seven, an Army brat, I stand with my mother on the tarmac in Nashville, Tennessee, boarding a plane for a flight to New York City and then on to Paris, France. At the time, I had no idea of the adventure I was embarking on that morning in 1955 and that my life would change, and change again, in directions that I couldn’t yet imagine.

As I settled in my seat my stomach was churning with the excitement of this new adventure, but I didn’t know that this journey would be the beginning of a lifetime of adventure, coming face to face with actors, musicians, political and military leaders, working in forty-two countries and living in three. Along the way, I will also experience tragedies-being in New York Times Square on 9/11 when the planes hit, seeing the poverty in Mumbai, and losing people I love. But in the midst of it all, I will inhale the wonders of the world-the allure of Paris in the springtime, Picasso’s masterpieces, and the captivating photography of Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Along the way, I cultivated a deep appreciation for diverse individuals, languages, art, culture, and style. First, my sharp shooting experiences gave me the skills to become a champion. Next, my business career as an executive gave me insight into what society calls a success. And now, my career as an artist affords me the freedom to create and share beauty.