THIS BOOK IS NOT FICTION.
This is my story.
This is what I experienced.
And I documented it.
A Special Place tells the story of what happened after I discovered what I believed was a serious and escalating health and safety situation involving a rodent-infested crawlspace above my condominium.
I did what I believed any homeowner would do: I asked for help.
I contacted the people and organizations I believed were responsible for addressing the situation. I documented conditions. I sent emails. I took photographs and videos. I obtained inspection reports. I sought professional help. And as the situation continued, I became increasingly concerned about the responses I received and the length of time it was taking to achieve a resolution.
What followed became one of the most devastating periods of my life.
My health suffered. My finances suffered. My emotional well-being suffered. Eventually, I lost the home I had worked for and the life I had built around it.
I also developed serious concerns about the conduct of individuals and organizations involved in the events surrounding my situation, including the handling of my complaints, communications, reported conditions, and legal representation.
Those concerns and allegations are now part of an ongoing legal dispute.
I am not asking anyone to simply accept my conclusions.
I documented my experience in A Special Place so people can read what happened from my perspective and review the documentation for themselves.
Read my experience.
Review the documentation.
Make your own decision.
A Special Place is a raw and deeply personal memoir about what happened when my home—the place where I was supposed to feel safest—became the center of a crisis that would eventually affect virtually every part of my life.
After discovering a severe rodent infestation associated with the crawlspace above my condominium, I repeatedly sought help and resolution.
Instead of the situation being quickly resolved, what followed was a prolonged struggle involving my homeowners association, property management, pest-control efforts, inspections, repairs, communications, and eventually legal representation.
As the months passed, I became increasingly concerned about how my complaints and the conditions I reported were being handled.
I began documenting everything.
Emails.
Photographs.
Videos.
Inspection reports.
Repair records.
Medical information.
And a timeline that ultimately stretched across years.
I also discovered information concerning my former attorney's previous professional relationship with the law firm representing the HOA. That discovery raised serious concerns for me regarding my legal representation and became another part of the larger dispute surrounding what happened.
A Special Place tells that story from my perspective.
It describes the physical, emotional, and financial consequences I experienced and the extraordinary difficulty I encountered while trying to obtain help and accountability.
The book contains documentation supporting my account so readers don't have to rely solely upon my conclusions.
They can look at the material themselves.
This is my experience.
This is my documentation.
And this is the story of how I survived it.
READ A SPECIAL PLACE FREE
I originally published A Special Place because I wanted people to understand what happened to me.
I've decided that making that story accessible is more important to me than selling a digital copy.
That's why I'm making the complete digital edition of A Special Place available FREE.
Read my account.
Look at the timeline.
Review the photographs, communications, reports, and other documentation presented in the book.
Then reach your own conclusions.
DOWNLOAD A SPECIAL PLACE —
FREE DIGITAL EDITION
For readers who prefer a physical book, a printed edition remains available through booksellers.
The Conditions I Documented
The video footage below shows some of the conditions I personally documented during this period.
These images are difficult for me to watch because they represent a time in my life when I believed I was living with a serious health and safety problem while repeatedly trying to obtain help and resolution.
I raised concerns about these conditions with individuals and organizations involved with the property.
I believe the response was inadequate and that the situation was allowed to continue far longer than it should have.
The responsibility of the various parties, what they knew, how they responded, and the legal consequences of those events are among the issues involved in ongoing litigation.
Rather than tell you what conclusion to reach, I am showing you what I documented.
Watch the footage.
Review the documentation.
Decide for yourself.
LEGAL NOTICE
This website presents my personal experiences, opinions, recollections, interpretations, and allegations concerning events involving my former homeowners association and others.
Certain matters discussed are disputed and/or are the subject of ongoing litigation. Statements concerning the conduct, knowledge, responsibility, or actions of other individuals or organizations reflect my allegations and interpretation of events unless expressly identified as an established fact or a direct quotation from an underlying document.
Nothing presented on this website should be understood as a finding by a court or other adjudicative body unless expressly identified as such.
Readers are encouraged to review the available documentation and reach their own conclusions.