No matter who you are, no matter how bad things look, you can rebuild your life.
In 2012, Craig Stanland made a choice that would cost him everything. After exploiting the warranty policy of one of the largest tech companies in the world for almost a year, the FBI finally knocked on his door.
He was arrested and sentenced to 2 years of Federal Prison, followed by 3 years of Supervised Release, and ordered to pay $834,307 in restitution. He lost his wife, his homes, his cars, his career, and even his identity. He wanted nothing more than to die.
Blank Canvas is a meditation on our remarkable capacity to rebuild and reinvent our lives. Through powerful storytelling, it is a testimony that our greatest adversities do not have to be the end. Sometimes, they can be our greatest beginning.
Praise for Blank Canvas
Craig has lived a story nobody would ever want to live. I was riveted to each page because I kept asking myself, ‘How would I handle this?’ And I didn’t know the answers. Craig takes us into hell and then we ride with him on the journey back. Great story, great writing, and great human being.
James Altucher, best-selling author of Skip the Line, Choose Yourself, and Reinvent Yourself
I cannot put down your book. Best book I’ve read since Tuesdays With Morrie. Jaw dropping.
T.S.
I am so grateful for this book. Craig Stanland has written such a truthful and personal tale, one of hope and strength. Blank Canvas has truly helped me to sort through my own story and find some peace.
Bobbie
Blank Canvas is a harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of a life brought low only to be reclaimed and redeemed in a stunning and startling fashion. Craig Stanland recounts in compelling, episodic chapters the events and choices that led to his arrest on fraud charges and his subsequent guilty plea, conviction and incarceration. Set adrift and having lost everything, Craig tells the story of finding the courage to accept the circumstance of his confinement and how it becomes the foundation for his reawakening, learning to live life on the terms upon which it is offered. This accessible and enjoyable read belies the frank honesty and the depth of reflection imbued within the pages. While a gem of a memoir, Blank Canvas lives more comfortably within the company of the inspirational classics Jonathan Livingston Seagull and The Alchemist.
Jeff K., New York City