Our Authors

Rising From the Ashes

Joshua D.J. Watts, MA.

Board Certified Christian Counselor

Christian Mental Health Coach

Rising from the Ashes-First Edition

When the flames of life consume everything you thought you were, how do you begin again?

Rising from the Ashes is the raw, honest, and deeply hopeful story bases on the real life events of a man who stepped into the fire service searching for purpose, belonging, and escape. As a volunteer firefighter Chief, a husband, and a father, he learned to wear the symbols of strength well, the turnout gear, the wedding ring, the proud title of “Dad.” But behind the mask of service and stability, he was quietly unraveling. Addiction, shame, and unspoken suffering smoldered beneath the surface, threatening to burn everything down long before the smoke was visible.

After years of running into burning buildings, helping others through their worst moments, and carrying the weight of emergencies that weren’t his own, he found himself facing a fire he could no longer outrun, the fire within. Broken, exhausted, and standing in the ruins of his own choices, he discovered that sometimes the greatest rescue is the one God performs in the human heart.

Through gripping fireground moments, hidden battles, painful personal reckoning, and the slow, sacred work of rebuilding, this memoir invites readers into a journey of redemption that is both deeply personal and universally relatable. It is a story of identity lost and restored, of grace found in unexpected places, and of a God who meets us in the ashes and refuses to leave us there.

For anyone who has ever felt burned out, broken down, or beyond repair, Rising from the Ashes offers a powerful reminder: your story isn’t over. Hope is still alive. And the God who walks with us through the fire is the same God who brings beauty from the ashes.

This is the beginning of the Walking Through Fire series, a journey from hidden brokenness to honest healing, from survival to calling, and from the flames of life to the God who makes all things new.

Available for order now-Amazon and Amazon Kindle