From Rising Hollywood Star to Miraculously Surviving a Head-on Collision with a Drunk Driver

SPEAKER_02: It's one of those things that you never honestly, I I never in a million years would have expected, you know, to be on that side of things.

Uh especially when you live your life trying to do the best thing you can, right?

Like trying to be the best version of yourself possible, always trying to do the right thing.

And then, you know, somehow life still sometimes ends up beating you behind, you know.

SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

I'm your host, Kevin Lowe, and I'm excited to welcome you inside.

This is the kind of place where your glass will never be anything other than half full.

Because we choose to focus on the positive side of life.

Now, this doesn't mean that we shy away from the real talk.

No, not a fact.

As a matter of fact, we explore all aspects of life.

From the good, the bad, and the ugly.

But all of that is done with the one purpose.

To inspire you to never give up on life, even when it may seem like life has given up on you.

Now I get it.

Life is hard.

Starting today, you've got grit great and inspiration.

What's going on, friend?

How are you today?

Hopefully nothing less than spectacular.

And well, if by any chance you are anything less than spectacular, well, that's why you're tuning into the podcast.

Because the point here is to build you up, boost your spirits, and remind you that you know what?

You're worth it.

So get out there and take on this day.

Today I am sitting in the studio with an incredible man named Caesar Perez.

Caesar is here today to tell us about his story.

And it's one that has us spanning the globe because, well, Caesar is an immigrant from El Salvador.

Moving to the United States as just a young child, Caesar would embark on an exciting life that would have him going off in directions that many of us only dream of.

Like, should I say, rising Hollywood actor?

Yes, indeed, Caesar Perez started his acting career, and well, the guy was phenomenal at it.

But why Caesar is here on the podcast today is not only to talk about all the good things that life has had in store for him, but to talk about the struggles as well.

That's kind of a theme with most of the guests here on the show.

And well, that's because that's generally the theme with life.

And as in most people's situations, it seems, a lot of times life has this cruel way of impacting us the most when everything is going good.

In Caesar's story, life was going amazing.

He was an actor on Hollywood.

Things were going incredible.

Had a girlfriend, and as I like to say, everything was going great until it wasn't.

And it wasn't came with a one tube hunt.

Driving down an inner state, Caesar was hit head-on by a drunk driver.

If that blow wasn't enough, well, he then spun into an oncoming semi-truck that hit him again.

And with that one two punt, Caesar's life would change forever.

Now what's amazing about Caesar Perez isn't where he started or what happened to him is how he's choosing to continue the story.

Because this young man is so full of spirit, so full of love, so encouraging and a reminder to us all to never give up on life.

Even when it may seem like life has given up on you.

My hope out of today's episode is that you come away with this understanding that even to the people who are on the top of the world who seem like everything is going great, well, life still happens to them too.

As it can happen to you or me.

But what matters is how we react to it.

We're all gonna get punched, we're all gonna get knocked down.

But what matters is how we handle it, what we do with it.

And that is what makes the story of Caesar Perez so incredible.

Because today Caesar is the author of Chase the Light, The Gruesome Art of Becoming Unbreakable.

Now, before I get to that interview with Caesar Perez, I do have to give a shout out to our sponsor, and that is Naked Warrior Recovery.

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So head on over to NakedWarrior Recovery.

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Or as always, the information is inside of today's show notes for easy access.

So give it up to Naked Warrior Recovery, our sponsor, and well, help them guys out by helping yourself out, by getting your mental and physical help in chat.

With that said, it is my pleasure to introduce you to the man of the hour.

Here is the incredible story of Caesar Perez.

Caesar Perez, welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having me.

It's a pleasure.

SPEAKER_00: Oh man, well, I'm I'm thrilled to have you on here today.

I'm thrilled to get to dive into your story.

Kind of, you know, this story of where you've come from, what you've been able to do with your life while at the same time, you know, going through some, you know, rather big challenges in life.

And so I would love for you to kind of start giving me a little bit of your backstory because I know that you're originally from El Salvador.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah.

So me and my family were all we were all born in El Salvador.

We came to the US in '93, no, '96, sorry.

And so I came when I was three years old.

So we were thrown into, you know, a new culture altogether, but my sisters and I picked it up well.

My parents, they always heavily focused on making sure we grabbed every opportunity that was given to us here in the US, as opposed to, you know, all the opportunities that were lacking back home.

So we always try to make the best with what we had and always had each other.

We always had each other's back because we're a pretty close-knit family.

And so my mom, she always heavily focused on our education, make sure, you know, we were trying to be the best version of ourselves possible.

And so that kind of opened up many uh opportunities for me, uh, you know, growing up.

Thankfully, I had good grades, I was a pretty studious person.

So I was able to go to college on a full paid tuition due to my academics.

So I was the first one to do that in my family, in our whole entire family, I believe.

So uh my family was ecstatic when they heard that I'd be going to college on a full ride.

And from then on, like I've always considered myself a storyteller, you know, whether it be through graphics, audio, animation, music, there's always a story to get across.

And so that's why I decided to major in multimedia because I wanted to bring a story to life, whether it be again through music, through audio, or through video, I wanted to be able to be part of that creative process and bringing that story across.

I went into the film industry shortly after I graduated, and my career just took off.

I was acting alongside starring opposite of Daniel Radcliffe, opposite of Big Mexican actor, Eugenio C.

So my my life was only going upwards, you know, as I had worked very hard for on the day my life changed.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

Yeah, man.

Well, that is absolutely phenomenal.

So now going backwards a little bit, I mean, what what was it like?

I mean, obviously you were young when you you guys moved to America, but so going back, kind of you know, looking at you know the aspect of your parents and stuff, how was the transition for them in your family as a whole?

SPEAKER_02: Well, for my parents, it was a lot harder just because they they didn't want my sisters and I to forget where we came from or where we come from.

Uh also they didn't want us to lose our Spanish.

So for them, it was always focusing, making sure our future was never put in jeopardy.

And so they never spoke English at home.

They only spoke Spanish to us because they knew we would pick up English at school and everywhere else here in the US.

So they heavily focused on making sure we didn't forget our roots.

And so that was super beneficial for us.

But obviously for them, it was it kind of stunted their um their English in a way, you know.

They didn't, they still have an accent to this day, right?

It's gotten so much better.

But now that we know, you know, perfect English, like we make sure they practice it with us.

So it's kind of like the tables have flipped nowadays.

SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.

That's really cool.

Really cool.

So now going to school, I'm kind of curious, where did the did the thing with acting come from?

Did that was that something that you developed in school through a drama class or or or how how did that happen?

SPEAKER_02: No, like I like I said, like I've always liked to bring a story across or help bring a story to life, get a message across.

And so like all throughout high school, I was part of theater, or like I would go to theater plays that were being held, but I would be in the pit.

Like I was never on stage performing or acting.

I was performing but in the pit, you know.

So I was part of the music and everything.

Because I play string bass, trumpet, classical guitar, piano, and the cahomes.

So yeah, so my whole family's pretty musically talented, but uh I I never was an actor, you know, from from early on in my in my childhood.

Like I it was not something that I had thought about ever being, but I I I was close with all the actors and everybody who was, you know, bringing these plays to life because I was also in the pit.

So in a way, it kind of, you know, was already mingled in together.

But it wasn't until college that I kind of got that opportunity as more films started coming to the East Coast to shoot and film here in Atlanta and in Georgia.

That's when I was like, hey, you know what?

Actors also help bring the story to life.

So let's try that side of things.

And it just came naturally to me.

SPEAKER_00: Wow, that's so cool.

You're you know what?

You're one of those people that in my family, which is full of people who can't sing, we can't play instruments, we look at people like you and say, no, why's he gotta have all the talent?

SPEAKER_02: Oh man.

It it took uh it took a long time, uh, that's for sure.

A lot of classes, a lot of lessons.

Sometimes I didn't even want to.

But you know, the funny thing is, so being Latinos, right, we we always or people always assume, you know, oh, they know how to dance, right?

But no, my family, none of us knew how to dance, like growing up when we kids in the US, none of us knew how to dance.

But that was one of the things that was missing in in my sisters and me.

Like, we were like, we see everybody, all our friends, all our Latino friends, you know, dancing and everything.

We're like, we're missing that aspect of our culture.

So we took lessons, you know.

Uh, I'm not ashamed to admit it, but we took lessons and and man, we dance a storm now.

So uh my parents are the only ones that don't know how to dance, unfortunately, but at least we we got together now.

SPEAKER_00: Oh man, I absolutely love it.

I can only imagine the the dance instructor, the Latino kids are coming in to learn how to do this dance.

She's like, Whoa, whoa, you you you kids should be teaching me.

Exactly.

Thankfully, we picked it up quick.

Yeah, yeah.

Oh my goodness.

Well, that's that's really awesome.

So now back on the thing with in college, you know, you picked up the theme with acting and and you realized, oh man, I'm good with this.

So then kind of where did life go from there?

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so from there, uh, but again, like I never said, oh, you know, I'm gonna be an actor and I'm gonna put all my eggs in that basket.

No, like I always wanted to pursue my career as a as an artist, as a musician, as a multimedia designer.

So I I had my hand in everything.

So, but when I came to Atlanta, like my career both professionally and my acting career, my music career was taking off.

And so, like, I was excited for 2018 because I held my family close at the end of 2017, and at the end of 2018, sorry, and I I told them that 2018 was gonna be my year because I had worked really hard to get to where I was, and opportunities were just knocking on my door.

So I was ecstatic for 2018, and unfortunately, you know, it's a year I barely remember.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, wow.

Life has a crazy way of of messing up our plans, as I like to say.

Sometimes it's we have our plans and then life gets in the way.

Yeah.

And now before we get to your accident though, you had some like, you know, pretty big roles, correct?

Because talk about some of the roles that you, you know, started.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so uh before I'll I'll backtrack slightly.

So before I even got into the acting aspect of it, like I had already uh sent my resume out and several set designers had gotten in touch with me to they wanted me to be their graphic designer for said film.

And so I was already in the film industry doing that.

And so I was I was excited just being able to help bring a story to life from that standpoint, right?

And that's when I realized, hey, actors also do bring the story to life.

So what if we commingle and do everything together?

And that's when I got the opportunity to star opposite of Daniel Radcliffe.

Obviously, I had to audition, but I beat out everybody that was auditioning out in LA, and they gave me the role.

And so to put it into perspective, I was starring opposite of Daniel Radcliffe in the movie Beast of Virgin.

And so one night I was rehearsing my lines and you know going through them with him.

And then the following night, I was, you know, creating a fake passport for him and a fake driver's license, you know.

So it was it was so crazy how my life had, you know, just developed.

And then if you go and scroll, if people scroll through the the credits at the end of that movie, you see my name appear twice, not only as Javier, but also as I mean, not only as Pablo, but also as the art department as the senior designer for that film.

So that's how how crazy and how interesting I guess life has been, you know, up until that point.

And then I got the opportunity to star opposite of a big Mexican actor, Eugenio Sierra, in the movie Blind Trust, and then in 1517 in Paris, which was directed by Clint Eastwood.

So yeah, things were only going great.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that that's amazing.

Now, can I just clarify one quick thing?

The making the fake passports, was that for the movie?

SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Sorry, did I not clarify?

Yeah, it was for the movie because I was their um I was their senior designer for that film, and then also I was starring in it.

So it was it was crazy how it worked out.

Okay, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00: Well, I just didn't want people reaching out to you for the wrong reason.

Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_02: No, I could have had a different life for sure, but no, it was for the movie.

SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay, perfect.

Okay, good.

Now that we got that cleared up, we can move on.

So, so now talk to me about because we we've been alluding to the year 2018, and I I think this is a theme for a lot of people when it seems like life is going amazing.

We're at the top of our game until all of a sudden we're not.

And so, so walk me through what that year had in store for you.

SPEAKER_02: Well, I like I said, it was a year that had so many promises, you know, as I was stepping into 2018 and unfortunately and left them all unfulfilled.

On January 12, 2018, I finished work early and I was driving down to see a girlfriend at the time, and I had driven down that road so many times, hundreds of times before, but I think it was a long weekend.

I think it was Martin Luther King weekend, and so I told my parents that I was gonna come see them too.

And my mom told me not to drive down because there was bound to be drunk people on the road, but I had driven that road so many times, and so I didn't think anything of it, and I just drove on that Friday down to go see my girlfriend, and I was like about an hour away when a drunk driver driving westbound on eastbound lanes hit me head on, going over 70 miles per hour.

And then as when he hit me, he spun me around onto uncoming traffic, and a big rig hit me head on as well, going over 70.

And that's kind of where my life shattered, where everything went dark.

SPEAKER_00: Wow, wow, wow, wow.

Now talk to me.

What kind of injuries did you sustain from that?

SPEAKER_02: Every injury you can imagine.

I mean, uh, everything in my face was shattered.

Again, because when the first drug driver hit me, I mean when the first car hit me, the airbags deployed, everything you know that was meant to protect me went off.

But then the second impact where the big rig hit me head on, like there was nothing to protect me.

So my face took the worst part of it, really, my head uh and everything.

And so from the injuries I sustained that day, I had my femur was protruding out of my leg, my left leg.

I had a torn ACL, torn ligaments of my right leg, and then uh everything in my face had been shattered.

So the EMS crew says that I was spitting out my teeth and every and bone uh when they came out to rescue me.

And then I had a brachioplexus injury, which left my arm, my right arm paralyzed for about two years or a little over a year.

SPEAKER_00: Wow, wow, wow, wow.

Talk about stopping in your tracks in the most dramatic way possible.

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: It's one of those things that you never honestly, I I never in a million years would have expected, you know, to be on that side of things.

Uh especially when you live your life trying to do the best thing you can, right?

Like trying to be the best version of yourself possible, always trying to do the right thing.

And then, you know, somehow life still sometimes ends up beating you behind, you know, even though it's not your choice.

I wasn't doing anything wrong.

I wasn't have even having fun for that matter, you know.

So that's why all the emotions and all the anger I went through, you know, through my recovery, it kind of helped me at the end, you know, uh channel that energy into making sure I got everything back that was taken from me.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

So talk to me a little bit.

What was the recovery process?

What were sustained injuries and in recovery, both physically and mentally?

I mean, I'd I'd love for you to share a little bit of that.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'd say the hardest part was definitely the mental portion.

Because I was diagnosed, obviously, once I got to the hospital, I was diagnosed with a severe brain injury just because of the huge impact and the huge blow my uh frontal lobe of my brain received.

So my brain kept hemorrhaging for about a year.

And so due to the severe brain injury I had, my emotions were so out of whack.

Like I couldn't control them.

Like I feel like that dam that held all my emotions at bay before had been broken, and so they were all running loose inside my mind.

But at the time, the worst part was realizing that everything I had worked for was gone, you know.

Like the person who I was, who I had worked so hard to be and to become, you know, that was yesterday.

You know, now from here on out, it's it's a new life, it's a new me.

And it was hard.

Definitely that was the hardest part coming to terms with what had happened and realizing that I couldn't change it.

I think that's that's even something that maybe even my family uh is still dealing with, you know, like why?

Why did he have to go through that?

And unfortunately, it's we don't have all the answers sometimes, right?

But you may do with what you got, and thankfully my family never left me, so I held on to them.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well that that's awesome.

No, I I was gonna say the questions that start with why can literally eat us alive, you know, and and it's life is you know, it's unfair.

You know, there's so much in our everyday lives that aren't it's not fair, but then it's life, right?

You know, and wow, wow, wow.

So now I I would love to know is there any point during this this time that stands out as like your pivotal point?

Like going from okay, I gotta change directions.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so obviously the first couple of months, you know, for my recovery, it took time coming to terms with first of all what had happened.

Uh, because I I I thankfully I don't remember the accident.

So I don't have that trauma that trauma or those those flashbacks that come to me when I get behind the wheel.

So kind of piecing my life together took a while.

And then after that, trying to get all my emotions in check was probably the hardest part for not just for me, but for my family.

But realizing that I had lost all my independence, I went from, you know, being super healthy, being in the best shape of my life, you know, being at the top of my game, to now having to go to the bathroom, uh having my parents take me, you know, not being able to tie my shoe, not being able to breathe, not being able to eat by myself, you know, losing that autonomy and that independence really it hurt.

And so there were a lot of moments, especially in the hospital, where I felt depressed.

And again, I had never been one to feel that way.

I always dealt with my emotions the best way possible.

I would either go to the gym, sit down, write music.

So I was never an emotional person.

I never went through a depressive state before the accident.

And but then realizing that my life was literally in pieces, and always that that ongoing question about why, why me?

Why did this have to happen?

And again, that did eat me alive for the first couple of months.

And it wasn't until I saw myself for the first time at the hospital after the surgeries, after everything, that I realized my life was probably never gonna be the same.

That suicidal thoughts actually crept in my mind.

And as much as it pains me, right?

Like I had never ever thought about suicide before.

But at that point, I was like, why continue?

If this is how life is gonna be for me, I don't want it.

You know, like after trying to be the best person I can be, and this is how life repays me, I didn't want it.

But that didn't last long because I even felt more depressed realizing that I couldn't finish or end my life, even if I wanted to, because my right arm was paralyzed, I could barely walk.

My mom was holding my left hand every night and day.

And so if I even wanted to end it, end it there, like I had to ask for somebody's help.

And so feeling hopeless, I like I feel like that's when I hit rock bottom.

That was as hopeless as I could get, realizing that I couldn't even end this suffering if I wanted to, right?

Like I'd have to ask somebody for help.

And so that kind of made me break down, cry.

And uh my mom gave me my whiteboard because that's what I used to write with with my left hand, and uh, she asked me why I was crying, and that's what I told her.

That's what I told her, like I rejected my faith, like I didn't believe in God anymore.

And she broke down, but she didn't correct me, which normally she would have, and that kind of affected me in um in a way only I can't even explain it really, because seeing her cry and seeing her kind of agree with me at the same point because she said she couldn't she couldn't tell me that I was wrong.

I realized that she was more broken than I was because everything she had believed her whole life, you know, had been shattered.

And her deep went much further than mine, because obviously she's older than me, she's believed in this all her life, right?

But seeing your only son on his potential deathbed, I realized that I couldn't break down again.

If not for me, because my life was meaningless.

Seeing them and all their support and all their sacrifice kind of gave my life meaning.

And so that was the turning point for me for sure.

Seeing that my mom was more broken than I was.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.

I I coming from from my own experience, I get it.

Is it's like it's one thing for us to be hurt, but then to know that whether however you want to word it or whatever, but it's because of us that we're causing this heartache to them also, and it makes you want to be strong if for no other reason than to try to help.

Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and and that's why that's why I say like that gave my life meaning, you know, and it gave me something to hold on to so that I wouldn't break down again.

I could I couldn't, you know, not if if not for me, for her.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

Now you mentioned the faith aspect, if you don't mind me asking, is that something did did your faith continue to grow stronger?

Did it get worse?

I was just curious about that.

SPEAKER_02: No, like uh obviously as I kept as my brain injury kept healing, and as I kept progressing, you know, I kind of came to the point of accepting what had happened.

And then once I accepted what had happened and accepted that I I had gotten myself to where I was before, you know, so why couldn't I do it again?

Right.

And thankfully I saw myself being able to recover and kept pushing myself.

Obviously, you know, that determination came from how my parents brought us up.

Once I saw that, I realized that I could make my peace not only with life, but also with my faith.

And so slowly I started noticing that when I was at my darkest moments, you know, I never was alone.

You know, my God, uh, or whoever, you know, you believe in, or whoever, whoever's listening, right?

Whoever you believe in, you know, I was never alone.

Like there was always someone there with me every step of the way.

And I'm I'm here, you know.

And obviously it took a while coming to terms with the fact that I am a miracle.

Being able, if you saw me today, you'd be like, how, how in the world did he go through all that?

Because it's a miracle that I'm I'm able to do everything I can still, you know.

And so people that were on the road that day in my accident got in touch with my sisters at the hospital, and they told them that they they had people we didn't know that they had children in the backseat.

And so obviously they would have perished if I had if they had been hit, they had gotten uh hit head on like I did.

So that kind of also gave me something to be okay.

Well, if my accident, you know, helped save somebody, then I think it was worth it.

Never did I think I it should have happened, right?

Because it was an irresponsible person on the road, but it kind of gave me something to hold on to too.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and what you you don't understand how much I'm I'm just sitting here smiling in disbelief and just literally almost have chills running through me as as I've been listening to you, because I sit there and I think to myself, how incredible is it that people with totally different stories, different walks of life, with totally different incidents can have so many of the same uh mindset and and like me when when I listen to you and you're talking about finding purpose in it, and like look at the lives that you saved, you know, and

and it does you're so right in the fact that it makes you realize, wow, well, maybe all of this was worth it if I was able to help somebody else.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because at the end of the day, you know, and that's like I said, I I don't believe this should have happened, it never should have happened, right?

But I was strong enough to with withstand it, you know.

And so if someone was supposed to take the hit, then you know, so be it.

I was I was the one.

And at the end of the day, I I realized also as my recovery kept progressing that I could be that light for some other people, you know, that are going through their darkest moments.

Like that's what kind of drove me to write my book.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love it.

I love it.

Well, well, before we get to the book, I I have one last question about the accident.

Would you mind sharing with me what was the result of the other driver who originally hit you?

Because was that a drunk driver?

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so this is where my story is so interesting and ironic, too.

Some would say cruelly or uh absurdly ironic, because uh again, I'm from El Salvador, right?

An immigrant, and my family raised us to be like outstanding citizens to earn our rights to live here, right?

In in the US.

And so we we always try to be the best person, kind of also changed the lens through which most Salvadorians, most Latinos are viewed, you know, as just gangsters or bad people, you know.

Like I we always strive to change that perception.

And so that day, the drunk driver, I didn't realize this until afterwards, once I read his deposition, that he was from the same place.

He was from El Salvador.

And so my family, we immigrated from El Salvador to avoid all the pain, all the suffering back home.

But somehow it's like it all came back full circle.

It somehow still found us here because this guy was the cause of our biggest pain, my family's biggest suffering.

And so it was it was so absurdly ironic and it hurt to my core, you know, to see that someone from my own place, you know, was the one that did this to me.

I don't think it would have made a difference if it had been an African-American, someone white or someone, you know, from a different country, but it just kind of poured salt on the wound, you know, just because that's where I'm from.

And so we I went to this criminal trial.

And the day I went to this criminal trial, the girlfriend I had been down to see that day, broke up with me.

So it was like a whirlwind of emotions, you know, like if I had kind of been able to accept what had happened and kind of been able to let go of some of the anger.

Uh, when my girlfriend left, the one I had been on the way to see that day, it just kind of lit everything aflame, you know, again.

It felt like I had gotten hit by two trucks all over again.

And so, but I went to his criminal trial and I asked the judge to let me record it because I wanted to help other people, you know, get through their darkest moments, eventually, you know, make a documentary.

And so he agreed that I could do that.

And when I got to the criminal trial to the courthouse, the drink driver wanted to sit down and talk with me.

And so we sat in a conference room, and I it's the most surreal scene I've ever been able to be a part of because watching him walk in, uh, Orange jumps to his hands with in handcuffs, right?

He was my height, my build, you know, like it was like looking at myself in the mirror, but in totally different spectrums, right?

Like we were just from the same place, but we were on opposite sides.

That's it was a surreal moment.

And my mom, she didn't let the moment slide because she was there with me and she took out pictures of me from before the accident and she threw them on the table and asked him, How do you give that back to me?

You can't.

And so he never looked at me, but he spoke to my mom and he said in Spanish that he was willing to, you know, whatever judgment came, that he was willing to accept it because he had two girls and he would hate them just as much as my mom does if something like that had happened to him.

So I think the sentencing was he was gonna serve eight years in prison, but he had already served two at that point, so six more.

SPEAKER_00: Wow, wow, wow, wow.

What an emotional roller coaster.

Now, what was it like for you emotionally to meet him?

SPEAKER_02: Seeing him walk in, I mean, the only few words I got to say before I broke down was that I didn't I told him I didn't know his story.

I didn't know him before then, and the hardest part of me to accept was the fact that we were from the same place, you know.

Like, how do you how can you do that to somebody?

And that's when I broke down and I couldn't continue because I was crying, and it was still very hard to breathe because I said I had gotten the trade tube removed just like the year before.

So my mom, that's when she started talking.

But my mom spoke to him in Spanish and he spoke to her in Spanish too.

So it was it was a surreal moment.

But when we got up and left, nothing the judge could say, or no judgment would or sentencing would have given me, you know, anything from my life back, right?

It wouldn't have made me feel any better.

But at the end of the day, I did feel a little bit lighter when we left the courthouse because all this whole time I had felt like my life had been an interrupted conversation, you know, like up to that point I had been making a statement with my life, and this individual just abruptly cut me off.

But that day I finally got to say my piece.

And what I really wanted him to see was that he hadn't broken me, you know.

Like I was still standing, though I was wobbly, right?

But I was still standing, and that I could have chosen to drown my pain in alcohol, you know, and not face the music, but I didn't, you know.

And so that's kind of like what was ringing in my head.

Like we all have a choice to make, and that's what I told him.

I was like, you have a choice to make.

You chose that day to drive drugs, so now accept it, be a man, and take responsibility of what's coming.

And that's when I left.

So that was my my finishing statement.

SPEAKER_00: Wow, wow, wow, wow.

Well, I must say that I mean, so how old were you when the accident happened?

I was 24.

I turned 25 two days after I got discharged from the hospital.

Okay.

Well, I was just gonna say that I mean, it speaks very highly of you, to even this thing of of of just wanting to meet him and and to know the person, you know, who who really caused this for you.

And then though at the same time, the weird, just crazy irony of life, the fact that he was you, you know, from the same country here in America, but it comes down to choices, you know.

So so moving on from that, talk to me how how we go from living your best life to then having literally basically hit by a brick wall, your life, you know, just spun around, thrown you into a different direction.

How then does a book come out of that?

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I gotta give credit to Mama Perez.

That was her idea.

That was her idea.

She uh she saw how angry, how depressed, and uh how obviously I didn't get violent because I could barely move, but like just how angry and depressed I was.

And again, it was a shock to everybody just because I had never been the type of person.

And so she sat down and with me and she told me to start writing everything down.

She for her, it served, it was gonna serve as a catharsis for me and my broken soul, you know, kind of help put the pieces together again of what was now my life.

And I really I didn't think anything of it, I didn't expect anything to happen, nor was I expecting to feel better once I wrote it down.

But I there was nothing else I could do, you know.

So I was like, what's the worst that could happen?

Right, like if I write everything down, if anything, it helps me put the pieces together and just kind of realize, all right, this is where I'm at right now.

This is where what my life is now.

And so slowly I started writing, and I threw the kitchen sink at it, you know.

Like I at first it was like 600 pages of just me complaining, you know, and like the story, uh the trajectory of everything from the accident all the way up through through my recovery, through my surgeries and through my therapy sessions.

But you know, there was complaining, and also because my girlfriend, you know, just the whole roller coaster of her, you know, leaving afterwards just because this wasn't what she had signed up for.

So I just I had a lot to say for sure.

Um but then slowly, once my brain injury started healing and I kept getting headaches and migraines a lot less frequently, I started reading through it and realizing there was a story, there was a message I wanted to get across, you know, that people, anybody could find some inspiration, some motivation to just hold on for one more day.

Because that's literally all I did, you know.

In my mind, I was like, what if tomorrow doesn't get better, right?

But my hope kind of helped me hold on for one more day, you know.

And so I kept pushing myself.

I was like, tomorrow I'm gonna try again.

It might not, my arm might not move, you know, but at least I tried.

You know, at the end of the day, if I didn't get any better, it sure wasn't gonna be because I didn't try.

And so I kind of wanted to leave that as one of the messages in my book.

And once I finished it, I definitely saw there was there was something, a message people could get out of it and hopefully get through their darkest moments, you know.

Like for me, my light was my parents and my family, and just wanting to get my life back.

That might be a different light for somebody else, you know.

So I just wanted them to hold on for one more day and just be resilient, you know.

Every night has to end, so you might not be able to see clear blue skies, but you can make your days a little less gray if if you want, you know.

So that was my whole purpose with my book.

And I I couldn't be more proud with how uh it turned out.

SPEAKER_00: Wow, wow, wow, wow, dude.

I absolutely love this.

And and what I love about it is the deeper meaning behind your book of really facing the fact that we have a choice, we have a choice to be happy, we have a choice to keep going, you know, and uh, I absolutely love it.

Absolutely love it.

So, what what did you end up titling the book?

SPEAKER_02: Ah, I'm glad you hit on that because there's there is definitely a meaning behind the title.

So, like I said, I always after the accident, what wouldn't I have given, you know, to go back to the Caesar of yesterday, you know, like just going back and have my life the way it was before.

So I always kept chasing.

I always kept chasing after that that Cesar or that Caesar, you know, that that was from yesterday.

And so I speak about it in my book that I I I had heard Matthew McConaughey give a speech about, you know, who his hero was, and his hero was him in 10 years, right?

Because that was always something he was chasing.

It would always give him something to look forward to.

And the ironic part of it was I wasn't chasing me in 10 years, I was chasing the me of yesterday, you know, and so I always kept chasing.

And for me, the people that helped me help hold on, you know, for one more day was my family.

They never left me.

And so I want people to be able to hold on for one more day, find something to hold on to, and just just continue.

Because I promise you, there are clearer and happier days out.

And no matter we all I like you said, life is unfair, right?

But there is still a possibility for us to live a fulfilling and beautiful life despite all the trauma and scars.

And so I say in my book, my two trucks to the face could be, you know, your recent unemployment, your recent illness.

But despite it all, there is still a chance to see the beautiful side of life.

And so that's kind of what I want to get everybody on board with.

Just because there's there's no point, you know, to not be happy.

There, you you have a choice and you can live a happy life if you want and if you choose to.

And so that's why also the subtitle, The Gruesome Art of Becoming Unbreakable, because it is an art.

It it took a lot, a lot of time to come to that conclusion that there is an art to becoming unbreakable, but by no means is it pretty.

So that's why I had to have that part: the gruesome art of becoming unbreakable.

And if you see the cover, the cover is actually me in the shadow.

It's a shadow, a silhouette of me, you know, throwing my crutches away.

That's literally me.

But I wanted it to be a shadow because my story, though it as unique as it is, it could be anybody's, you know.

Like I want everybody to be able to see that they can be in my shoes.

Obviously, not going through a severe accident as the one I did, but anybody can chase that light, you know.

Anybody can live a beautiful life if they choose to.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

Man, I love you.

I love your spirit.

I I love your this just story that you know that is your life as well as the story that is your book.

Where where can we find your book?

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you can buy it online on Amazon, Books a Million, Barcelona's.

You can order it online.

I would definitely order it through Amazon just because Amazon is the quickest way nowadays with everything.

SPEAKER_00: Exactly.

We we all love Amazon.

What would we do with with you know if it wasn't for Amazon?

So so I'm I'm am curious what's on the horizon.

SPEAKER_02: For me, yeah, it was literally just the stepping stone.

Because and I told my parents that too, right?

Now that it's an Amazon best.

Seller, like that's just the icing on the cake, right?

Because when I finished writing and throwing the kitchen sink, like I said, you know, at it, like I told my mom, no, I am gonna publish it.

I'm gonna tell my story.

The world is gonna know my story.

And so that kind of determination and that resilience of hey, doing something that I said I was gonna do and seeing it through, that's kind of what the person that I'm I've always been.

And so once I published my book and then it became an Amazon bestseller, I told my mom, I was like, I would have been 100% happy if you were the only one that had bought it, you know, like because I never did it for money, for the recognition or nothing.

It was because it was something I said I was gonna do and I saw it through, you know.

So that was in itself just recompense enough for me, you know.

But after that, I know this is gonna be on the big screen because I have everything, I have all the footage of me, you know, going through my recovery process.

Like I do want to turn it into a documentary, and then also, you know, my interaction with the drunk driver, you know, facing your demons, facing the person that actually caused the worst heartache, the worst suffering for me and my family, and just kind of, you know, coming to terms with it, like coming to terms with accepting where I'm at now and just taking that responsibility of getting myself back to where I want to be.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

Caesar, man, you're absolutely incredible.

I want to thank you so much for for taking the time out of your day to just be a guest here on the show and just to share, share your just amazing just view on life with with me and my listeners.

And uh, so man, I uh from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02: Oh, thank you, thank you, honestly, because like I said, you can relate to my story just because you know, we we see things, we see life, you know, with a new perspective.

And that's something that I say in my book.

My personality and my mentality didn't change, but definitely I have a new perspective on life now that I hope people can kind of get to.

You know, I I really believe that you don't have to be broken to understand brokenness.

So I hope people don't have to go through traumatic events, you know, to kind of get this new perspective on life, and that's that's kind of what I hope for to do with my book and my story.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man.

Well well, fantastic.

Well, well, once again, man, thank you so much for for being the guest on the show.

Yeah, fantastic.

Well, and for you listening today, I mean, let's face it, what better example of grit grace and inspiration is he?

Absolutely incredible, blew me away.

Hopefully, you've enjoyed this conversation with Cesar Perez today, and I would like to now turn it around on you.

It's time for you to stop listening to the podcast and get out and take on the day now that you've got grit, grace, and inspiration.

Hey, real quick before you go, I have one last thought to leave you with.

I of course hope that you've enjoyed today's episode, but more importantly, I want to remind you that I never want you to listen to an episode of this podcast to hear something that I have to say or that my guest has to share, and think, wow, I wish I could be like them.

I wish I could overcome my own challenges and do the great things that they are doing, but I just can't.

Well, friend, that's where you're wrong.

You are capable, you are able, and you darn sure are deserving of having all that you can imagine in this life.

There's nothing special about me or any guests I have on this podcast.

We are all just normal people trying to make it in this life.

And so I encourage you to take a look at yourself in the mirror and remind yourself that you know what?

I can do it too.

Now, of course, if you would like help along that way, reach out to me.

Whether that's as a listener of this podcast, a friend, or if you'd like to work with me as a coach.

My contact information is inside of every episode's show notes, just like this one.

So go down, check out my contact information, and reach out to me today.

With that said, I encourage you to take on the day every day with grit grace and inspiration.