(COLORADO SPRINGS) — World Suicide Prevention Day is Wednesday, Sept. 10, and one man who tried to take his own life is now sharing his story in hopes of helping others. Rob Decker, Founder and President of Rise As Lions, community advocate, survivor and now author, joined FOX21 Morning News on Wednesday to talk about his journey from darkness into light.

“I had gone through many years of trauma and hard experiences that led to an eventual addiction,” said Decker. “There was this place of complete darkness, brokenness, hopelessness.”

Decker survived his suicide attempt but broke several bones and spent several years in rehab. “It was five years of rehabilitation and even in that five years of rehabilitation I was still dealing with drug and alcohol addiction, so I was still self-medicating a lot but I got myself into another situation where I had to give up the drugs and alcohol and then I just made it my life’s work to pretty much dig into my faith and help people in their darkness.”

In recent years, Decker said he got an overwhelming sense that he needed to write a book about his story. It took a few more years and some convincing from others, but eventually “God’s Awning,” a story of rejection and redemption, came to fruition.

“It was a tough go,” he said. “At one point, I even shelved the book because it was just so overwhelming, because I had to relive a lot of the stuff I was talking about.”

In the end, Decker said the book was healing for him and he hopes it has the same effect on others. “God’s Awning” is available on Amazon.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, help is available. Call or text 988 to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline; this service provides 24/7 confidential support for anyone in crisis or emotional distress.