Jeffrey W. Baxter's My Dash Takes Readers Beyond the Uniform into a Story of Addiction, Family, Faith, and Redemption

Tampa, Florida Oct 10, 2026 (Issuewire.com) - To the outside world, Jeffrey W. Baxter had built a life defined by achievement. Behind closed doors, he was fighting a battle that titles, security clearances, discipline, and decades of service could not defeat.

After more than three decades serving in demanding military, intelligence, and national-security environments, Baxter knew how to operate under pressure. He had served as a First Sergeant in the United States Air Force, worked as an Intelligence Officer at ICE Headquarters in Washington, D.C., held an assignment at the Pentagon, and supported senior military leadership. He had built a reputation for being dependable, composed, and capable, the person others could trust when the stakes were high.

But beneath that carefully maintained exterior was another story.

His newly released memoir, My Dash, takes readers inside the private struggle hidden behind professional accomplishment: a journey through family crisis, unresolved grief, emotional isolation, addiction, damaged relationships, surrender, recovery, and faith.

The story begins with an experience no amount of professional training could prepare Baxter to face. Before his daughter Lindsey had taken her first breath, he found himself staring at a hospital heart monitor as doctors confronted a life-threatening medical condition. Baxter had spent years watching screens during combat and intelligence operations, but this time there was no mission to execute and no situation he could control. The life at stake was his daughter's.

That helplessness became part of a much larger struggle. Baxter had spent years learning to carry responsibility without showing strain. As a husband, father, leader, and national-security professional, he believed the weight was his to carry.

Eventually, alcohol became a way of quieting what he could not, or would not, express.

What makes My Dash particularly compelling is Baxter's examination of high-functioning addiction. His life did not collapse overnight. He continued working, attending meetings, receiving strong professional evaluations, and appearing dependable. From the outside, the structure remained intact. Inside, however, his coping mechanisms were slowly reshaping his life and affecting the people closest to him.

Baxter does not tell the story solely through the consequences he experienced. He confronts what his addiction meant for his wife, Lisa, and daughter, Lindsey: the fear, uncertainty, damaged trust, and emotional burden they carried while he continued believing he could manage the problem himself.

One of the memoir's most painful realizations comes when Baxter recognizes that his daughter had begun noticing patterns in his behavior. Her simple observation, "Daddy is acting weird again," forced him, in recovery, to confront how deeply his struggle had entered his family's life.

Yet My Dash is ultimately not a story about remaining trapped in the past. It is about what can happen after a person finally stops hiding from it.

"This book isn't about perfection. It's about surrender," Jeffrey said in a recent interview. "It's about recognizing what happens when we spend our lives believing we have to carry every burden alone, and what becomes possible when we finally become willing to face the truth, accept help, and choose a different way forward. My Dash is about the time we are given, the people we affect along the way, and the choices we make with that time. My hope is that someone who sees themselves in these pages, whether they are struggling themselves or loving someone who is, will understand that their story does not have to end where they are today. There is hope. There is a way back."

Through vulnerability, accountability, recovery, and faith, Baxter turns his experience into a message for people still struggling, and for the spouses, children, friends, and families struggling alongside them. His dedication makes that purpose explicit, acknowledging those still suffering, those who did not survive their battles, and the loved ones who have experienced the consequences alongside them.

My Dash is now available on Amazon, offering readers a deeply personal reminder that a successful life is not measured simply by titles, accomplishments, or appearances, but by what we ultimately choose to do with the time between the beginning and the end.

For more information about the author and his book, visit https://riseabovealcohol.com/.

About the Author

Jeffrey W. Baxter is a former United States Air Force First Sergeant, intelligence professional, and national security leader. After a career dedicated to service and protecting others, he shares his personal journey through addiction, recovery, and renewal in My Dash.

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