Essays • Memoir • Conversations

Writing & Media

Writing about awareness, recovery, and living a more authentic life.

Published writing

What We Mean When We Say Recovery: Making Room for Progress That Isn’t Finished

Psychreg • October 13, 2026

An essay about the progress we can make while there’s still more ahead.

Read on Psychreg

Guided journals

Dad’s Life Story front cover, with a father and two children illustrated on a navy background

Dad’s Life Story

A Guided Journal Of Memories, Lessons, And Love For Your Family

48 writing prompts to help Dad record memories, reflect on lessons learned, and share his story with his family.

View on Amazon

Memoir

I Recommend Everyone Die At Least Once In Their Life

Completed manuscript • Seeking representation

A completed 70,000-word memoir exploring mental illness, addiction, identity, and the search for peace.

For readers of Maybe You Should Talk To Someone, What My Bones Know, and Sure I’ll Join Your Cult.

Synopsis

To the outside world, I appeared driven, charismatic, and successful. Internally, I was trapped between two competing voices that slowly began destroying my life.

The first was The Warden—the vicious inner critic fueled by shame, fear, and self-hatred, constantly reminding me that no matter what I accomplished, I was still a failure. The second was The Achiever—the voice that told me I was just short of a god and insisted the answer was always one more accomplishment away: more money, more status, more discipline, more reinvention. Together, they formed a perfect psychological tag team, keeping me trapped in a prison built not of bars, but of thought.

Eventually, the war inside my mind became unbearable, leading to a suicide attempt that should have ended my life. Instead, it became the moment my life began.

What followed was not simply a story about surviving mental illness or overcoming addiction, but a deeply human exploration of how the mind works, awareness, and the exhausting search for meaning. As I began questioning the voices I had spent my entire life obeying, I found answers in the one place I never wanted to look: within.


Interviews & podcasts

The Chris Voss Show

Guest appearance.

Short bio

Tyler Kaulbars smiling outdoors

Tyler Kaulbars is an author, speaker, entrepreneur, and mental health advocate. His writing and speaking draw on lived experience and center on awareness, recovery, and living a more authentic life. He has spoken for NAMI Collier County and been a guest on The Chris Voss Show. He is also an ISA Certified Arborist and the owner of Arborist Art, a Florida tree care company.

For interviews, speaking, or questions about my writing:

Get in touch