Exclusive Interview: Jimmy Wayne Hopes To Raise Awareness and Inspire Others With ‘Walk to Beautiful’ Autobiography [VIDEO]

Jimmy Wayne is putting his life on paper in an autobiography called 'Walk to Beautiful,' to not only raise awareness for kids aging out of foster care, but to inspire. He says he started writing immediate after his 'Halfway Across America' walk, 'something just told me you need to starting writing your notes down before you forget them.'

Book Deal

Everything changed when Wayne attended an event, as a favor to a friend. 'In the crowd was a book publishing company; one of the largest in the world. There I was, auditioning in front of them and I didn't even know it. The next day they offered me a book deal.'

This isn't just any book.  It's a book written by a 14 times New York Times best selling author. 'It's the big leagues. I'm just very excited because this is truly a dream come true. My first album was a dream. I always wanted to write songs about my story but there's only so much you can say in

three minutes. This book tells the entire story that I've been beating around the bush about for the past 16 years. You're probably going to be shocked. There's some really personal things I shared,' explains Wayne.

Seeing the Light

You'd think sharing the most intimate yet hardest times in your life would be difficult but Wayne says it was time. 'I had been carrying this around for so many years, this was a release. To be able to put it down on paper and stare at it, it's like looking at your demon and saying 'you're not going to control me anymore.' I can take this gift of experience and write about it and help other people who may not have that strength to lay it down.'

Wayne discovered many things along his 1,700 mile walk, but the most important was forgiveness. 'We all have a story to tell. We've all been hurt by someone. My mom was sick, mentally, and she really didn't take care of her kids. She dropped me off, in the middle of the night at a bus station when I was 13 and drove away. And this wasn't the first time. The amount of hatred, frustration and not trusting anyone was built up in me so much, where I just wanted to explode. After 6 months on this walk, I had this epiphany. I've gone from a stage at Madison Square Gardens to walking in the middle of nowhere, looking stupid and that's when it hit me. There's no reason to hold a grudge. This life is too short.'

Music Career

Despite what some may think, Wayne didn't walk away from his music career, he says they walked away from him. 'It was during a time where there was no touring so I utilized the time off to raise awareness for these kids. Unfortunately the team in Nashville all walked away because they thought I was the crazy guy walking across America and was never coming back. But more has happened in my career since that walk than has ever happened. It has been amazing.'

The Future

So what does the future hold for Jimmy Wayne? 'I'd like to take this project, the 16 songs I wrote about my walk and my story, on the road to do some amazing, entertaining concerts and have people walk away saying 'that was different than anything that's ever been done.''

The book is just the beginning. Wayne says there's also a movie in the works and filming is scheduled to start this summer. The movie film should be out by Christmas.

You can pre-order 'Walk to Beautiful' at Amazon.

Exclusive Jimmy Wayne Interview