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Christian author draws on teen experiences in Fayette

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Lots of students think that going to high school is a hellish experience. When Clint Byars attended McIntosh High School as a senior in the class of 1991, he felt that he was literally being tormented by demons and Satan himself on a daily basis.

He recalls his experiences that year, his recovery and the process of becoming a born-again Christian in the book “Devil Walk,” which can be ordered at local bookstores now and will be available on the shelves in September.

Byars was a Fayette County resident all through his school years, attending Tyrone Elementary and J.C. Booth Middle before McIntosh. It was in high school that Byars said he began to take some wrong turns in his life, including substance abuse. Byars’ drug of choice was LSD, a hallucinogen, and one night he heard voices trying to convince him that he was already dead and living in Hell. He believed the voices for months and went through the motions each day, expecting to go further into Hell at any moment.

During this time, Byars felt that he couldn’t trust anyone, sensing that everyone around him wasn’t real. The only person he could turn to at that point was God and after putting his trust in Him, Byars began to turn his life around. He graduated from McIntosh in 1991, attended Georgia State University for two years and then went on to the University of Georgia, where he met his wife, Sara.

After graduating from UGA, Byars and his wife moved to Atlanta and attended Faith Cornerstone Church. It was here that Byars was introduced to the work of Dr. Jim Richards and eventually Byars and his wife moved to Huntsville, Ala., to attend Bible college. Byars began working at Richards’ church, Impact Huntsville, as a youth pastor. Byars was able to connect with the teens in the program and all the while he longed to put his story in book form.

“I started writing this book a few times but this time it has all worked out perfectly,” recalled Byars, who had increasingly felt that his story, when told, would help people.

Byars claims he wrote the book in 20 hours, taking his true story from his memory and putting it on the page.

“The experience in high school was very traumatic for me and there were many times where I had prayed to forget,” said Byars. “God helped me remember the details while writing it.”

After he completed a draft of the manuscript, Milestones International Publishers handled everything else, providing Byars with an editor and helping generate the buzz, which has been building ever since the book was completed earlier this summer.

While the book will be available at major bookstores like Barnes and Noble, it will also be prominently displayed at Christian bookstores around the country. It will be sold at all 400 locations of the Family Christian Bookstores and if all goes well, it could be added to the Christian Booksellers Association best-seller list soon.

Byars, who also owns and operates Glory Graphics, which produces Glory Gear Apparel, has goals to spread his message as wide as possible. He has made television and radio appearances about the book recently and will also be participating in book signings this fall. He hopes to be able to speak to people in mental institutions that hear voices, stating that there is a real force out there trying to deceive us.

While Byars is also working on a new book about people having the same faith that Jesus had, he is also looking to returning to the Atlanta area somewhere down the road with his wife and their children — daughter Sydney, 3, and son Reese, 1 — and starting his own church, a place where they can learn about God and also begin to believe the truth about themselves.

“Devil Walk,” is available on www.clintbyars.com and can also be ordered at bookstores around the country. Byars will be signing the “Devil Walk” Saturday, Aug. 27, from 4-7 p.m. at the Family Christian Bookstore, 119 Pavilion Parkway in Fayetteville. Phone 770-719-7791 for more information.