About the author

Been there!

"He [Tom] has personally wrestled the demons of addiction of every kind. He has been swallowed up in temptation. He has fallen prey to an enemy of every description. But Buford has courage. It shows in his writing because it shows in a life that relented to the love of the Father. A life that was totally delivered from the tyranny of its enemies..."

Alan Smith
Publisher, Ncubator Christian Resource Directory

His Bio...

Dreams of someday driving a 40-foot Silver Eagle and adventures he was sure were waiting for him somewhere down the road filled every waking moment for the boy from Borger, Texas. The son of an itinerant preacher, Tom Buford attended eleven schools in four states before graduating high school at the end of the "Jesus Movement." Tom’s father had waged war against the tidal wave of temptations that marked the ’60s, and young Tom longed to know what it would be like to actually be allowed to dance with a girl, see a movie, or watch television like other kids. For a while, he was content to play piano in church — and especially liked playing for traveling Gospel groups. But the smell of diesel was undeniable. Someday he would be a cross-country bus driver for some commercial carrier — or, better than that — drive a fancy private coach for a famous star.

In 1983, Tom’s dreams came true when he was hired to drive buses for entertainers. At age 22, he had been hired by Trailways and thought then he had attained heaven, but now the skills of nearly ten years and a million miles driving intercontinental motor coaches had paid off. He drove for a number of stars in all genres, from Twisted Sister to music legend Johnny Cash. He was in the "big leagues" and was almost ten years into marriage with his sweetheart Mera. Life just couldn’t have been better!

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Tom’s world had become a place where truth and fantasy would collide — a place where the heaven of luxury hotels, limousines, and prestige met the hell of loneliness, heartache, and spiritual death. Dreams gave way to nightmares as all those temptations his father had preached — more than he ever imagined — were paraded within his grasp. Long-ago sermons resounded in his ears as he found himself spiraling downward into pornography addiction, gambling, alcohol, more — addictions that eventually demanded the ultimate ransom. Life, he was sure, was over.

But if Tom had spent most of his early years in church, he had yet to meet the Author of life, the meaning of God’s grace and mercy, and the importance of forgiveness. In 1991, the Lord he had turned his back on decided it was time for Tom to come home. A powerful event took place in his life that caused all literal hell to break loose — more than four hours of speaking in a growling, dog-like voice in an all out battle against the demonic forces that had controlled him. He was freed at last from his addictions. Tom Buford is the author of Riding a Dead Horse: Carousel to Hell, the story of God's miraculous redemptive work in his life. His writing and this ministry are the fruits of his experience as he found his way back home.

Tom now lives in Tennessee, where he remains happily married to his best, most faithful friend, Mera. He is in the process of writing his next project.

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