Chris Greenwood, best known by his stage name Manafest, has been pumping out music since the early 2000s. Recently he also turned his talents to writing with Fighter, which he is currently offering for free at fighterbook.net. Greenwood poured his life story, both bitter and sweet, into Fighter. He did so to influence others to rise above the ashes and move forward without regret, as he has done.

Manafest happens to be a native of my city of residence, Pickering, Ontario. Recently, he and I sat down at a local Starbucks to talk about his book

In your book, you opened up about your father committing suicide. This, of course, impacted you greatly. I was wondering if you could tell me not necessarily about that story, but how this tragic incident has influenced your writing? 

I really talk about my dad in my music and my writing. I had a different upbringing than a lot of people. And whether it was good or bad, it would have been great to have a father in my life. 

I write about pain and struggle because that's what people relate to. And when I wrote about my experiences, I was amazed how many people have a similar story or one that's related to mine. This opened up conversation that wouldn't have been there otherwise.

It was awesome that I could write about about different things, not just one thing. Not everybody relates to suicide, but they can definitely relate to a broken family, or they can relate to a broken relationship. These are the conversations that allow you to connect with other people.

To me, Fighter exemplifies true ministry. You poured everything into your book to inspire people. That in itself is amazing. In my mind, God doesn't let anything go to waste. So you're inspiring others with your story--your darkness--so to speak. 

Instead of letting my tragedies beat me down, I used them as part of my story to help others.
 
How did Fighter come about?

I read a lot of books, or I did, before I had a daughter. I listen to a lot of audio and training books now. Reading changed my life. Certain books just totally messed me up--in a good way. I really like Peter J. Daniels' work. He's a Christian businessman and entrepreneur from Australia. After reading his book, I thought "why don't I write a book, and share my story?" I was in a good place, and I wanted to give back.

I remember writing "fighter" across a notepad I bought at Wal-mart. This is where I got the idea of fighter. A fighter isn't someone who never fails; a fighter is someone who never quits. It's an idea to bring inspiration and hope, for people to fight after their dreams, fight for their marriages, fight for their relationships, fight for their family and God, and fight for what they believe in. 

You call your fans "fighters." In fact, you have a new project that ties your book and fanbase together. Can you tell me more about that?

Sure. I've turned my "fighter" idea into a fan club, an inner circle of people who are chasing after hope, inspiration, and so on. I don't want it to just be about Manafest. I want it to be about my fighters, too. Me actually pouring into them. 

How's the response so far?

It's gotten bigger, and God's growing it. We're giving the book away right now, which is awesome. When people go to fighterbook.net, they get the book for free. All they have to do is pay shipping and handling. We're moving hundreds and thousands of books and getting this message out to so many more people who could never normally get it. And I'm really excited about that!

Fear is a frequent topic in Fighter. You inspire readers to fight fear. I fear failure. You have fears. We all have fears.

People have a tough time overcoming fear. Conquering fear. When I lost my dad to suicide, I became very shy, timid and introverted. I've had to learn how to become extroverted and develop that part of myself. I believe it's because I didn't have a dad, I had to learn to become free and overcome fear. 

In Fighter, I give five keys to conquering fear. If fear is conquered, people will excel in so many more areas of their lives. Oftentimes, people stop moving forward because they're too scared of failing or what people will think of them. What if this doesn't work? What if I lose money? People never get to see what's on the other side: their dream. 
 
For me, I like when people shoot for the stars. I was a bullied kid. Many people said "you know what, you're not going to amount to anything." But God pushed me through. College, he pushed me through there, and now I'm living my dream.

And that's the thing, you don't have to let your past dictate your future. You can rise above it. We have to keep overcoming fear and keep knocking it back down when it tries to knock us down. 

What about the fear of sharing your faith with others? Do you find it hard to talk about God?

For example, I'm going through the U.S. border tomorrow. Officers will ask, "what do you do?" I'll say that I'm in a Christian rock band. I'll say I'm Christian; I'm OK with that. I don't normally strike up conversations on a plane. And I fly all the time. If the topic comes up, I'll talk about my faith. 

God needs to help me evangelize more openly. Not just stick within what I'm comfortable with, which is music. Right now, I'd turn on the camera on my phone and start filming myself--do a selfie right here. But I might not go, "Hey, do you know Jesus?" That's a different type of ministry. It's funny. We're just wired differently, aren't we?

You can get your copy of Fighter for free by clicking here.