Shot in the head as a young teen, Lodi native Freddie Almazan sharing his story of survival

Mar. 15—For the last five years, Freddie Almazan has delivered his message of overcoming adversity to students throughout the Lodi Unified School District, as well as across the country.

His mission has been to help Lodi's youth turn negative images about themselves into positives, and ultimately lead a good life.

Now the Lodi native wants to take his message and mission to a broader audience.

Almazan recently completed his first book, entitled "Beauty in the Broken Pieces: Discovering Strength in Our Scars," which will be available as an e-book through Amazon KDP on March 26, and then on bookshelves April 30.

The book, he said, is geared towards helping other trauma survivors find strength in adversity, and took him about six years to complete.

"I tried to write something in 2018," he said. "I was writing and writing, but I never stuck to it. I didn't know where I wanted to go with it. And then I sought the help of a writing mentor, who helped me focus and decide where to take it. After that, it took about five months to write."

On Nov. 11, 2006, at the age of 13, Almazan was shot in the back of the head near Hale Park by someone armed with a shotgun.

He was taken to Lodi Memorial Hospital, and ultimately to UC Davis Medical Center.

Almazan at one point was pronounced dead, but his mother saw he was still breathing, and doctors placed him in a medically induced coma.

He woke up two weeks later, then spent two months recovering before he came home.

When Almazan returned to high school, he said everything about his life changed.

"I was constantly comparing myself to other people, and I just had the feeling I didn't belong," he said. "I even had the cops called on me once when I was walking home from school, because people thought I was drunk. I had some balance issues."

Soon, Almazan went through a transformative journey, taking a trip to Brazil to speak at a conference, where he learned that he had been running from problems and that only he could turn his life around.

He said when he finally let go of his pain and focused on how to change his future, things began turning around.

"I became a different person, and promised myself that one day I'd share what I had learned with other struggling teens. I saw myself as a victim and I didn't believe anything could change my future."

Almazan began speaking to students in 2019, sharing his experiences and ways he overcame the negativity he was feeling.

His book, he said, is written from the perspective of helping other trauma survivors overcome their own challenges. In addition, it provides readers strategies they can use immediately to begin their own transformation toward a more positive life.

"A lot of people have challenges in life, and they allow those challenges to be the center of their universe," he said. "They're only able to see pain, struggles and hurt. I couldn't see beyond that, and I wanted to share that yes, there are struggles in life, but they don't keep me from changing the future for the better."

To pre-order "Beauty in the Broken Pieces: Discovering Strength in Our Scars," visit freddiealmazan.com.

To contact Almazan directly, email heyfreddie@freddiealmazan.