Rescue Story: Faith, Freedom, and Finding My Way Home

Grammy Award–winning vocalist Williams recounts in his candid debut memoir how he clawed his way out of addiction and built a redemptive relationship with God. Williams grew up in a tight-knit religious family in 1980s and ’90s Arkansas , listening to worship music at church and poring over contemporary Christian albums with his father. He began playing basketball seriously in grade school while also becoming something of a rebel; by the time he started middle school, he was drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes (“If I wanted to hang with my buddies, I had to do whatever they did”). After an injury in junior college ended his basketball dreams, Williams developed a prescription drug habit, which—along with his drinking—worsened as he found success in music, becoming the frontman for the Southern rock band Zach Williams and the Reformation in 2007. Following an intervention by his father in 2012, Williams dedicated his life to Christ, abandoned his vice-fueled rock and roll lifestyle, and struck out on a solo Christian music career. Williams is brutally honest as he details how relationships with his loved ones were tested by his ruinous drug and drinking habits, and he remains effusive about his faith without slipping into self-congratulation: “I have to constantly rely on the grace of God to make it through,” he acknowledges. This inspires. Agent: Dave Schroeder, WTA Media. (Feb.)