The doG House of Cards is a creative memoir of self-discovery with a spiritual edge—a story about overcoming adversity and having the grit to persevere in the midst of hopelessness. Once it became clear to me that I was not born to be just another person in the world, I began to take a closer look at my life…and I’ve come to believe that I was created with a purpose and a destiny. This story is about the coincidental occurrences in my life that have enlightened me to my purpose—and ultimately brought me to a place where I didn’t even know I belonged. Unfolding over decades and through a twisted chain of events I’m led to discover my place of belonging. When I reach a point in my life – and find myself isolated in a desert – I become terrified and begin to believe I may never survive the perils that I encounter in that valley. Due to a constant stream of wrong choices that I kept making throughout my life, I’m brought to my knees. In my darkest hour, I unexpectedly come face-to-face with what I believe to be my guarding angel. She delivers a message of hope, which gives me courage to overcome a hopeless situation. My faith is founded, and I begin to believe that there’s more to life than what I could see before I found myself in my hour of despair. Within the cracks and crevices of my life, I start to look for and find a spiritual presence. I begin to build a relationship with this spirit that would eventually change my life forever. When I finally began to look closer at my circumstances in a way that I had not considered before encountering the presence of this spirit, the more I could see, the happier I became, the more I felt like I belonged—and the less afraid I was—until I finally ended up here…sharing my love story with all of you. Whether you believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Jesus of the Holy Bible, or Allah of the Holy Quran, all roads seem to lead to the same place. I, Darrel Loyd, believe a very similar path is true for those who simply may not believe in anything greater than mankind. Whatever your beliefs, I hope my story provokes you to become aware of all things around you, while at the same time, allowing you to embrace the similarities in each of us and, more importantly, the differences in one another. I believe the real power here on earth lies within us, in a world that’s so complex that it defies all logic, although it can be explained in one simple word…love.