As a little boy, my dream was to fit in and be ordinary. Not to stand out, not to shine. I just wanted my scars to fade, fingers to grow back and normal life back. Which makes what I’m about to share even more stunning.

If you would have asked 10-year-old John if he’d ever stand at the front of the room and talk about the most tender parts of his past in front of strangers, you would have gotten a hard no. Why would anyone want to hear it?

If you’d asked if he would write a book about the hardest times in his life and the lessons learned? Again, no. Who would read it?

What about turning his story into a movie? Nope. How would that even happen?

And yet, my friends, the story of a little boy who should have died after being burned and then hid from those scars for decades has been shared thousands of times from the stage. It has inspired two best-selling books. And (are you sitting down?) is about to begin filming a full-length feature movie in my beloved hometown.

Go ahead and read that again.  Yes, you read that right! ON FIRE is about to be made into a full-length feature movie and it’s being filmed in St. Louis!

How’s that possible? Let me explain.