OUTCAST

A Dyslexic in an Ivy League World

I spent my entire adult life hiding something that’s haunted me for as long as I can remember – dyslexia. 

Growing up with severe dyslexia, I couldn’t read, graduated last in my high school class, and never earned a college credit – facts I hid so completely that even those closest to me never knew.

Concealing my dyslexia behind hustle and instinct, my nontraditional path led me to Wall Street. While I still couldn’t read, there was something about the chaos on a trading desk that finally engaged my dyslexic brain. I ultimately landed at Merrill Lynch, where I rose to senior vice president in the institutional department.

Wall Street isn’t designed for people like me. They look for the perfect academic pedigree and the ability to read a Bloomberg terminal without breaking into a sweat. I was the one that shouldn’t have gotten through the door. Not only did I get through, I stayed long enough to see the game for what it was, a system that mistakes fancy diplomas for intelligence. I didn’t have any diploma. As it turns out, it didn’t matter.

For all my success, I lived in constant fear of being discovered. In my mind, I was still that special ed kid who had snuck into the elite’s clubhouse. I was always waiting for that tap on my shoulder, “come with us, we know about you.”

Eventually, my imposter syndrome got too heavy. After 20 years and at the peak of my career, I did the unthinkable. I walked away. I traded my Beacon Hill lifestyle and went in search of a more authentic life.

Dyslexic Hiding in Plain Sight

I packed my family into a tour bus that was originally built for country music legend George Strait and spent a year on the road. We settled in rural Vermont where I founded my own financial services firm. More importantly, I did the one thing my dyslexia said I never could – I became a writer.

As I’ve reflected on my life journey, I’ve been curious about how other dyslexic adults have gotten along once they’re cast into the real world. I went looking for books about the “lived experience” of dyslexia, only to find slim pickings.

“OUTCAST – A Dyslexic in an Ivy League World” (available September 29th) is the book that I wanted to read. In this deeply honest and upbeat memoir, I share the battles, insights, and hard-won lessons of a life spent navigating a world built for others – a testament to resilience, reinvention, and the hidden power of thinking differently.

My goal in publishing my story is to give inspiration and hope to dyslexics, young and old, as well as parents, educators, and clinicians who support dyslexics.