💬 About Joseph Behnke
My name is Joseph Behnke, and I’m more than just the author of Before 18: In Joseph’s Footsteps — I’m the person who lived it, breathed it, and carried it in silence for far too long.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a storm inside me. One filled with moments I couldn’t forget, wounds that never seemed to close, and questions I never felt safe enough to ask out loud. Growing up wasn’t soft. It wasn’t simple. It wasn’t safe. I was exposed to things no child should have to carry — and yet I carried them, day after day, year after year.
This book started in the quiet. In late-night journal entries. In phone notes I typed just to get the weight off my chest. In moments where I felt like if I didn’t write it down, it would swallow me whole. At first, I didn’t think I’d ever show anyone. But the more I wrote, the more I realized: this wasn’t just my pain. This was the pain of so many people like me — young, unheard, and surviving in silence.
I didn’t come from privilege. I didn’t have a fancy writing coach or a deal waiting in my inbox. What I had was a voice — raw, unfiltered, and still healing — and the courage to use it. I didn’t write Before 18 because I had it all figured out. I wrote it because I didn’t. And that honesty… that’s what makes it real.
I’ve spent over three years pouring my truth into these pages. Every chapter reflects a different part of me — the boy who felt abandoned, the teenager trying to find love and security, the young adult facing trauma most people wouldn’t believe. It’s not perfect. Neither am I. But it’s mine.
I’m only 19 years old. And people ask me all the time, “Why write a memoir so young?”
The answer is simple: because I’ve already lived through things that changed me forever. And I know I’m not the only one. Because this book isn’t about being 40 and looking back — it’s about being right here, in it, and choosing to speak now while the memories are fresh, the emotions are sharp, and the truth still hurts… but also heals.
This is the first time I’ve ever told my full story. But it won’t be the last.
There’s more coming — books like Before 18: The Untold Stories of Drug Abuse, where I explore the chaos and heartbreak of addiction within families. It’s something I’ve witnessed up close, something that shaped my world long before I understood what it was. And someday, when the time is right, I’ll write Before 21: In Joseph’s Strength — the continuation of this story as I live it in real-time, building a life I wasn’t always sure I’d make it to.
I don’t write for fame. I write for healing.
I write because I know someone out there needs to hear this.
And I write because turning pain into purpose might be the most powerful thing I’ll ever do.
If you’ve made it this far — thank you. For reading. For being curious. For showing up.
You are now part of this journey. And I truly hope this book becomes part of yours, too.
Because Before 18 isn’t just my memoir. It’s proof that your story — no matter how hard, no matter how messy — is worth telling.
With love,
Joseph Behnke