In Episode 41, Daniel Hess talks to us about his struggle with losing his cousin after a long battle with cystic fibrosis. Daniel was only 9 years old at the time. The trauma of losing his best friend at such a young age created a void in his life that he has since tried to fill with creativity to keep the memory of his cousin alive. 

Daniel began writing poetry as a way to cope with his feeling of loss and to stay creative throughout his young adult life. It’s been a place of solace for him. A place to express his dark thoughts and feelings in a safe environment. He has recently written a book, “Just a Boy Blaming Himself,” as a reflection of looking back through the pain of his childhood experiences and how they have shaped him into the person he is today. 

About Daniel Hess

Daniel Hess is a writer/filmmaker born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. After losing his best friend/cousin to cystic fibrosis when he was 10, Daniel began his first foray into writing and poetry. As he grew up, and at the behest of his close friend in high school, Daniel began to pursue filmmaking in college. After graduating from Towson University in 2012, he fell into life quickly, but thanks to a few mentors was able to find footing in corporate/event videography. While this became a place of steady income it was something that kept creativity far out of reach. At age 28, after receiving word that he would soon need heart surgery, a new spark for letting a creative voice be heard emerged again. Over the course of the last three years, Daniel stepped away from the event videography space, committing his company, To Tony Productions, to only producing original short and feature film productions. Currently, Daniel is studying for his master’s degree in film at Anaheim University, while also working on his first novel.

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