Long Road Home

Steven Walks On The Grass tells his story

“The lost home that we are seeking is ourselves; it is the story we carry within our soul.”
~ Michael Meade

In each Chapter of Long Road Home this delightfully witty, warm, and multi-talented man shares an honest and compelling account of his amazing journey to free himself from the death-grip of narcotics addiction. From the first line, “I was born broken” Steven Walks On The Grass navigates a path filled with bumps, boulders, crashes, and wrong turns in search of wholeness during 37 years within the walls of state and federal prison systems.

Perhaps the single greatest influence on Steven’s path to addiction recovery was learning to live by the traditions and values of his Native American heritage. Through the grounding of songs, prayers and ceremony in the traditional Lakota sweat lodge, mentored by wise elders and teachers in prison, Walks On The Grass gradually found his spiritual path.

All the while, Steven’s brilliant intellect, musical talents, and driving work ethic also flourished even as he endured the harshest punishments for crimes committed in his brokenness on the Long Road Home. Now the ordeal is over and Steven has literally started from scratch to begin a new life. By holding on to his Native traditions and returning to his first love, music and singing, Steven’s passion and generosity of spirit indeed tells the story written on his soul.

When I first asked Steven to write out his story, it was because I had come to know him well enough to feel his story was well worth writing down and sharing with others. Little did I consider that writing his story would have such great significance for him as a therapeutic exercise. In the beginning it was difficult for Steven to even talk about some aspects of his early life and his struggles with addiction and “bad” behavior. By the time we had worked together as writer and editor through the process of completing the first few chapters we both came to realize what an emotional release it was for him to dredge up old memories and shine a light, not just on the struggles, but also the personal achievements in each phase of his journey.

E.P. Dixon, Sings Many Songs, Editor & “Mom” in Steven’s new life.

Message from Steven: My name is Steven Walks On The Grass. What you read will be as real when you read it as it was when it occurred – a lot of ugly truth but also many beautiful experiences. I know. I did the time in those places. You will see a man starting his life with no end in sight; a man who made the end a beginning.

These are my stories. These are my dreams. These are my accomplishments and my failures. These are my feelings. These are my needs. These are who I am. I gladly give it to you with the hope that someone might avoid some of the speed bumps I didn’t miss. Thanks for reading my story.