Finding Tico: A Memoir

Some people lose their way. Jay had to go back to understand his.

In the chaos of Tejarcillos, Costa Rica, a small boy was taken from his abusive family and sent to a local orphanage.

What followed was a childhood fractured across continents, haunted by shifting shadows of memories he didn’t understand paired with an emptiness he couldn't explain.

For nearly two decades, Jay carried a question that haunted him: What happened to his older brother after he left the family?

The search for truth became the search for himself.

What he discovered shattered his world—eleven siblings, most of whom he never knew and the brutal life led by his biological mother. And just when he thought his search was over, Jay learns about his youngest sister–who he didn’t know existed—and whose presence became the bridge between his fractured childhood and the man he fought to become.

Finding Tico is a breathtaking memoir of survival, resurrection and resilience. It's what happens when a story is interrupted, and one man’s journey to reclaim what was taken from him.

Raw, tender, and ultimately triumphant, this is a testament to human belonging—and his extraordinary resilience to find his way home.

For anyone who has ever felt lost. For everyone who refuses to stay that way.